Halfbreed
by Twisteddarkness225
Summary: A new girl comes to stay at the inn. But she's a half demon who likes other girls. Warning! there is Yuri Female/Female relationships in this story! Rated T for language and suggestive themes, later on.
1. Chapter 1

Half-breed

Half-breed

I do not own Love Hina in any way. I only own Yumi-chan

Alright, here's my first story here on . It will be containing yuri (girl on girl relationships) so if you oppose that sort of thing, then you don't' have to read it. Please keep in mind that it is my first fanfic here. So to those of you who review, please be honest.

Chapter 1) A new face

Yumi Kishimoto stood at the top of the staircase in front of the Hinata Inn. She took a good look at the building in front of her. It was her new home as of today. She had called earlier that week and had made all the necessary arrangements. She was a bit nervous about meeting the other residents, considering she didn't really fit in with most people.

She was an 18 year old half-bred demon. Her skin was pale, her shoulder length hair was silver and her eyes were a light red color. But other than that she appeared to be an average girl. She was the average height and weight for a girl her age. She wasn't very good at sports or much smarter than other kids in her school. But she did have one skill. She was fast. She could outrun all the other students at her school and was the best runner on the track team.

A rumbling noise snapped her out of her thoughts. Her stomach was growling. She went inside and called out.

"Hello? Is anyone home?"

No answer, she went off looking for someone, anyone who could tell her where she could find the manager. Her stomach growled again. She went into another room which she could tell was the dining room. She could see the kitchen through a door across the room from her and thought of satisfying her hunger. Yumi entered the kitchen, looking for a light snack. There she saw a young girl, most likely in her early teens, at the counter chopping vegetables. She had short blue hair and similarly colored eyes. She was Shinobu Maehara the resident master chef. Yumi forgot all about her rumbling stomach and found herself staring at the girl.

Yumi wasn't into men, she preferred girls. And the one standing in front of her was very cute. She licked her lips. If it weren't for her self control she would have tackled and groped the little beauty. Yumi cleared her throat, getting Shinobu's attention. Then Yumi made her move. She stepped forward, leaning down a little to get a better look at her face.

"Hi there cutie, can I ask you a favor?"

Shinobu couldn't help but feel a little nervous. Some strange woman had just walked up to her and called her cute. Plus there was something about her eyes; the irises almost seemed to be glowing. Shinobu couldn't stop staring at the woman's eyes. There was something entrancing about them.

Yumi took another step closer, "Well? Are you going to answer me?"

She waved her hand in front of Shinobu's face, "Hello? Are you in there?"

Shinobu snapped out of her daze. She blushed, mentally scolding herself for spacing out.

"I'm sorry! I…I wasn't ignoring you or anything! It's just that...that…"

Shinobu trailed off, not knowing how to explain what happened. Yumi just giggled at the younger girl and reached out to touch her cheek. She caressed Shinobu's cheek with her hand.

"You are so cute. I could just eat you up."

Yumi leaned forward, her lips slowly getting closer to Shinobu's. Realizing what was going to happen, Shinobu pushed the older girl away and ran for the door. Before she could get out however she bumped into Motoko Aoyoma, the resident swordswoman. Shinobu hid from Yumi behind Motoko.

Yumi felt a wave of rage when she saw Motoko. She grabbed the kitchen knife Shinobu had been using and lunged at Motoko.

"You bitch! I'll kill you!"

Motoko drew her blade and blocked the attack. With a flick of her wrist she knocked the knife from Yumi's hand and sent it clattering to the floor. Yumi tried to punch Motoko, but the swordswoman caught her fist and twisted Yumi's arm behind her back. Yumi fell to her knees, no match for Motoko's superior strength. Motoko released her hold on Yumi, allowing her to get back on her feet. Yumi turned and glared at Motoko hatefully. Motoko glared back.

"What is the meaning of this?"

Yumi felt the urge to charge at the girl again, but knew it would be pointless.

"You know damn well what this is about! You killed my Mother!"

Motoko looked shocked, "I did no such thing!"

"Don't lie to me! I saw you do it Tsuroko Aoyoma!"

"My sister?"

Yumi's face softened, but still glared angrily at the woman in front of her.

"Sister?"

-15 minutes later-

Yumi, Shinobu and Motoko were all seated in the living room. Keitaro and the other girls were all there as well. Keitaro had told everyone that Yumi was going to be moving in. Yumi had bowed and introduced herself. She then apologized for the trouble she had caused. However she was still cold towards Motoko who was trying to find out why.

"Why would my sister have killed your mother?"

Yumi hesitated, "Because…my mother was a demon. She was a Succubus."

Motoko raised an eyebrow, "Then that means…"

"Yes, I'm a half-breed demoness. My father is human; he met my mother one night at a bar. She was looking for a victim and set her eyes on him."

Keitaro looked confused, "Victim?"

Yumi nodded, "Succubi are more common in the human realm than you think. They pick up men, seduce them with their charms and then take all their money and valuables. It happens quite often in cities around the world. But this was different. I don't know what happened, but for some reason, my mother fell in love with my father. A year later they married, and the following winter I was born. My mother gave up preying on men and settled down to enjoy a quiet and peaceful life."

Yumi turned all her attention to Motoko, her eyes glowing blood red with hatred.

"That is until that bitch you call a sister showed up! She charged into our home and killed my mother without a second thought on the matter! She was about to kill me too when my father begged her to spare my life and take his own instead. She backed off and left us alone. But that doesn't make up for what she did!"

Yumi fought back tears in her eyes. After a few minutes she calmed down. She stood up and picked up her bags.

"I'd rather not talk about this anymore. Urashima-san, could you show me to my room please?"

Keitaro got up and began to lead Yumi up the stairs.

"You'll be staying in room 202. It's right this way."

Back downstairs Shinobu's face flushed a little. Her earlier encounter with Yumi was still fresh in her mind and she wasn't so sure she wanted to stay in the room next to the same woman who had come very close to kissing her. Unfortunately she couldn't bring herself to argue with her beloved sempai. She had seen how hard he had been working to get everything ready for Yumi's arrival and didn't want to say anything.

Upstairs, Yumi had settled in and began unpacking. She took a look at her room. It was plain, but she still had a lot of stuff back home she needed to bring over. She let out a sigh and lay down on her bed. Life here was definitely going to be interesting.

TBC

Next chapter Motoko and Yumi have a little talk and Yumi adjusts to life at the Inn.


	2. Chapter 2

Ok, first off I'd like to thank all my readers and a big thanx to those who reviewed

Ok, first off I'd like to thank all my readers and a big thanx to those who reviewed. It means a lot to get such positive feedback on my first fic. Here's chapter two.

Chapter 2) Friends?

Yumi lay on her bed, wondering what she should do. She had finished unpacking and was now bored out of her mind. Letting out a sigh, she got up. If nothing else she could at least try out the hot springs. Her mind began to wander as she thought about how she got to share a bath with five cute girls. Especially one girl in particular; the young beauty she had met in the kitchen. Yumi could only imagine what the girl would look like with only a fluffy towel wrapped around her body.

The sound of her door opening snapped her out of her daydream. The object of her thoughts was standing in her doorway holding a tray with two cups of tea. Yumi smirked mischievously; it looked like she got to finish what she started earlier.

Shinobu felt uncomfortable. The look Yumi was giving her wasn't helping. Taking into account it was too late to turn back now she entered Yumi's room. Holding up the tray she approached Yumi.

"I…I thought you might like some tea."

Yumi sat up and turned to face Shinobu, "Actually I could. Thank you."

For the next minute there was an awkward silence. Shinobu didn't move from where she was standing and seemed to be avoiding looking at Yumi. Taking the initiative Yumi patted the floor next to her; inviting Shinobu to sit.

"Have a seat. Its ok, I don't bite."

Shinobu sat down, although a little reluctantly. Yumi took a cup of tea and sipped.

"This is delicious. Did you make this?"

Shinobu nodded, "You seemed upset earlier. I thought it would help you feel better."

Yumi was touched. She barely knew this girl and yet she had gone out of her way to do something nice for her. Yumi wanted to hug the younger girl, but held back, not wanting to startle her like she had earlier in the kitchen.

"Thank you. That's very sweet of you …Shinobu, right?"

Shinobu nodded, "Uh- huh. Shinobu Maehara."

"That's such a pretty name. It suits you."

Shinobu blushed at the compliment, "Thank you."

"Shinobu, I was kinda wondering if… I made you feel uncomfortable earlier."

Shinobu smiled, "No, not at all."

Yumi scooted closer to Shinobu, "So you weren't bothered that I tried to kiss you?"

Shinobu's face reddened. She wanted to speak, but for some reason no words came. She thought back to the moment when her and Yumi's lips had almost touched. Did she feel bothered by that? She wasn't sure.

Shinobu was snapped from her thoughts when she felt Yumi's hand on her cheek. Yumi's hand gently caressed Shinobu's cheek causing the young girl to blush even more. Shinobu looked the halfbreed in the eyes. Those entrancing eyes, they seemed to glow in away that let you feel as if everything was alright.

Yumi leaned closer to Shinobu, the two girls' lips inching closer together. Unlike the last time, however, Shinobu didn't resist. She closed her eyes and found herself awaiting the feel of Yumi's lips against her own. So close, just a little further. Almost there.

"Ahem."

Yumi silently cursed. Motoko was standing in the doorway, looking down at the scene with an aire of annoyance.

Shinobu got up, her face beet red. "I…I forgot! I need to do laundry!"

Motoko let Shinobu pass and turned her attention to Yumi.

"You're rather forward aren't you?

Yumi turns to Motoko, "You can really ruin the mood; you know that?"

Moments passed, no words were exchanged between the two. Yumi began to feel irritated.

"Well? You just going to stand there or do you want something?"

"I feel we got of on the wrong foot. Let's start over again. I'm Motoko Aoyoma."

Yumi hesitated, not wanting anything to do with the younger sister of her mother's murderer. But, she felt as thought she at least ought to give Motoko a chance.

"Yumi Kishimoto. Sorry for earlier."

Yumi invited Motoko into her room. The two talked for a while and they found out they were both going to the same school now that Yumi had transferred from her old one. They then decided to continue their conversation in the hot springs.

--

Yumi sank into the bath, the hot water washing over her body, relaxing her. She smiled contently as she thought to herself how nice it was that she got to bathe like this from now on. She let out a sigh as she let the springs wash away her tension. Her gaze made its way to the other girl in the bath. Yumi couldn't help but notice Motoko's beauty.

Despite the fact that Motoko looked like her older sister, she had her own unique beauty. She was sitting, the water coming up to her chest, hiding most of her body from sight. But Yumi was still able to see the serene look on the swordswoman's face as she enjoyed the hot water.

'_She's kinda cute.'_

Unfortunately the peace and quiet was short lived as none other than Keitaro decided to enter the hot springs at that moment so he could clean. Yumi immediately sunk further into the water hiding all but her head from sight. Her face flushed bright red. With the exception of her father, no man had _ever_ seen her naked body before and she didn't plan on letting one see it now.

However, much to Yumi's surprise, Motoko pulled a shinai(1) out from nowhere and in a single swift attack, sent the manager flying into the stratosphere. In that moment Motoko's body was fully out of the water, allowing Yumi to get a good look at it. Her eyes widened at the sight before her.

Motoko's movements were smooth and graceful. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Motoko seemed to emerge from the water and then run across it, bringing her weapon into position. Then she struck, the force behind the blow was enough to knock out a full grown bull. She stood, arm fully extended, brandishing the shinai as though it was part of her arm. Motoko's muscles relaxed; water droplets cascading down her body as she stood in the moonlight. Yumi's jaw dropped.

'_She isn't just cute, she's gorgeous!'_

Motoko gave a quick look of disgust in the direction the manager had been sent flying.

"Filthy pervert."

Motoko settled back down into the water, taking a deep breath as she tried to calm herself. Yumi just gawked at the other girl for a moment and then burst into a fit of giggles. Motoko turned her gaze to Yumi, one eyebrow raised in confusion.

"What's so funny?"

Yumi quieted herself, "It's just that you look so much like that sister of yours, yet you don't act anything like her!"

"What are you saying?"

Yumi stifled another giggle, "Nothing. I just thought it was funny how you went berserk on Urashima-san and then acted as though nothing happened at all."

Motoko merely stared for a moment. Then she smiled a little. She supposed to someone who only just moved in would find life at the Inn beyond what one would consider 'normal'.

"You best get accustomed to Urashima's perverted antics. He does things like this on a daily basis. And Naru and I are the ones who put him back in line."

Yumi looked at Motoko incredulously, "Are you serious?"

Motoko nodded, "It's all true."

"Why don't you call the police on him if he does this on a daily basis?"

"We thought of that, but couldn't do it. He became a part of our lives we just couldn't get rid of. He is a pervert, but he has his moments. Besides, as odd as it sounds, nearly all the girls here, including myself developed a crush on him at one point."

Yumi raised an eyebrow and gave Motoko a disbelieving look.

"What? It's true! Naru clearly loves him but won't admit it. Su likes him because he reminds her of her older brother. Kitsune flirts with him all the time. Mutsumi apparently has loved him since they were kids. And Shinobu has been infatuated with him since he first came here."

Yumi's head started to hurt. ALL the girls here actually loved the same guy? And said guy was a pervert who peeped on the girls who liked him and then they go and kick his ass for it? Yumi decided to try and not absorb it all at once for fear it would make her head hurt more.

The night was growing darker, the stars had all come out and the moon was rising to its peak in the night sky. Yumi and Motoko got out of the bath, bade each other good night and went to bed.

As Yumi lay beneath her blanket, she knew she would need all the sleep she could get. It had been a long day out of many to come while living in her new home. She closed her eyes and allowed the sweet bliss of slumber take her.

TBC

(1)A shinai is a wooden sword made from bamboo staves that is used for kendo.

Thanks again to my readers, I'll try to get the next chapter up asap.


	3. Chapter 3

Thanx again to those who read and reviewed. I'm glad to see that some like the idea of Yumi and Motoko being together. I was originally going to pair her with Shinobu, but I thought that Motoko would be more interesting, especially considering how Tsuroko is the killer of Yumi's mother. I still plan on doing some scenes where Yumi interacts with the other girls a little. Here it is, chapter 3.

Chapter 3) Realizations

Shinobu tossed uneasily in her bed. She had woken up early in the morning and could not get back to sleep. Her mind was plagued with thoughts. Thoughts of her recent encounters with Yumi. She knew she was attracted to the older girl. But she had no way of knowing if it was curiosity or something more.

Then there was the _other_ thing. Twice she had nearly been kissed by Yumi. The second time she had actually wanted it. The young girl brushed her fingertips over her lips, wondering what it would feel like to kiss Yumi. She had kissed Keitaro once, but wanted to know if kissing a girl would feel any different than that had.

Shinobu shook her head, breaking off from her train of thought. Sitting around and imagining what it would feel like wasn't going to get her anywhere. She came to the conclusion that what she needed to do was ask someone who had experience. She got up and went to Naru's room.

She arrived at her destination and knocked. Naru answered and invited Shinobu in. The two sat down and Shinobu told Naru about her problem. After she finished Naru sighed.

"Shinobu, I'm flattered you came to ask me for advice, but I don't really know what to tell you."

"I…I just want to know what it feels like. To kiss another girl, I mean."

"What makes you think I would know?"

Shinobu fiddled with her fingers, "Well didn't you kiss Mutsumi-san once?"

Naru sweatdropped, "How did you know that?"

"Sempai told me."

Naru's eye twitched slightly. _'Note to self: kill Keitaro for that'_

"To be honest I don't really remember it all that well."

"Do you at least remember what it felt like?"

Naru thought a moment, "Her lips were soft… and warm. But that's all I can remember."

"Was it different than kissing a boy?"

Naru let out a sigh. She didn't want to keep talking about this. It was making her feel a little uncomfortable. She stood up and helped Shinobu to her feet as well. She nudged the younger girl out of her room as politely as she could.

"It's almost time for breakfast. You should get started. If you like I can help you. I just need to get my laundry really quick. Then I'll meet you in the kitchen okay?"

Shinobu didn't argue. She nodded and made her way down stair. Maybe while Naru was helping her make breakfast she could continue their conversation where they had left off.

Shinobu entered the kitchen and couldn't help but smile. She had spent so much time in this one room. Preparing breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. She loved to cook. It made her happy, and because she always cooked in the kitchen (for obvious reasons) just being in the kitchen made her happy.

Feeling content she set to work preparing breakfast for everyone. As she cooked she hummed a tune to herself. She heard the sound of footsteps approaching and turned to meet with who she thought was Naru. Instead she came face to face with Yumi. She greeted the older girl with a smile.

"Oh, good morning Yumi-san."

Yumi smiled back, "Morning cutie"

She took a seat at the table as Shinobu finished cooking. The young cook began to set the plates and dish out portions of the still hot meal onto each plate. Yumi eyed the food and immediately likened it to that of the kind you would find in the best restaurants of Japan.

"You really made this all by yourself?"

Shinobu nodded, "I do it almost everyday."

Yumi was impressed to say the least. She inhaled the aroma of the food in front of her and savored it. It smelled even better than it looked if that was possible. Shinobu sat next to her and was about to take a bite of food when she noticed Yumi staring at her.

Shinobu's thoughts went back to earlier that morning when she had been wondering what it was like to kiss Yumi. Maybe now was her chance.

"Yumi, may I ask you something?"

Yumi snapped out of her daze, "Hmm? Oh, sorry. I kinda zoned out for a second. What do you need?"

Shinobu could feel her face heat up and knew she was blushing. She swallowed the lump in her throat.

"C-Could I kiss you?"

Yumi blinked, "You actually want to? I thought that maybe after I tired to kiss you again last night you would be uncomfortable around me."

The younger girl shook her head, "No not at all! To be honest I kind of want to know what it feels like.."

A mischievous grin spread across Yumi's face. She leaned forward.

"Here. Let me show you."

Shinobu closed her eyes. She felt Yumi's lips press gently against hers in a chaste kiss. Shinobu noticed how different if felt from when she had kissed Keitaro. Yumi's lips were soft and warm, just like Naru had said when she described her kiss with Mutsumi.

The kiss lasted only a second. Yumi pulled away. Much to her surprise Shinobu closed the distance between them and their lips met once more. Yumi let the kiss linger a little longer than the previous one did.

Shinobu didn't know what came over her. She had reacted on an impulse and had kissed Yumi again. Not that the older girl seemed to mind. Shinobu took this as a good sign and savored the feeling of the other girl's lips on her own. Nothing could possibly ruin this moment.

Or so she thought.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

TBC

Okay so I left you with a cliff hanger. I thought it would be a good way to end the chapter. Once again I hope you liked it and appreciate any and all reviews I get. I think that this is going well and I just might have the next chapter up soon.


	4. Chapter 4

Thanx for your reviews! First off, sorry for the cliffhanger and for making you wait so long between chapters. I will try to update sooner from now on. Also I have decided the official pairing. It's going to be a love triangle with Yumi, Motoko, and Shinobu. Here it is, chapter 4.

Chapter 4) Confession

Naru had finished getting her laundry. She had put it out to dry the night before and had forgotten to bring it inside. Thankfully it hadn't rained at all and her clothes were fine. She put them away and made her way downstairs.

As she descended the staircase she could smell breakfast. She shook her head and smiled to herself. It looked like Shinobu didn't need her help with making breakfast after all. Then again the girl was able to cook unbelievably delicious meals for everyone three times a day, seven days a week. It was no wonder she was able to cook so well. Naru entered the kitchen seeing if there was anything she could do to help.

What she saw made her stop in her tracks.

She had walked in on Shinobu kissing Yumi. Without stopping to think about what was going on, Naru shouted the first thing that came to mind.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

The two girls broke their kiss and turned to look at her. Both their faces were red. Yumi looked irritated at having been interrupted. Shinobu looked like a child who had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

Naru crossed her arms, glaring at them.

"Just what is going on?"

Shinobu stood up, "Naru we were only…"

"I'm not asking you! I'm asking _her_!"

Yumi stood up and met Naru's gaze.

"Not that it's any of your business, but we were enjoying a private moment. That is until you so rudely interrupted us."

"In other words you were taking advantage of poor little Shinobu!"

"That's not true!" Shinobu stepped forward. "I _wanted_ her to kiss me. I asked her to do it."

Naru's glare melted into a look of confusion. "Why would you do that?"

"I wanted to know what it was like to kiss a girl. You didn't really answer my question when I asked you earlier. So I… I decided to find out for myself."

Naru walked up to Shinobu, placed her hands on the younger girl's shoulders and kneeled down enough so she could look her in the eyes.

"Shinobu, I know you were curious but you can't just go and do things like that. You're still just a kid."

If there was one thing Shinobu could not stand it was being called a child or being treated like a child. Shinobu pushed Naru away, "Don't treat me like a little girl Naru! I wanted to kiss Yumi! Maybe I think she's pretty! Maybe…maybe I like her!"

Shinobu ran out of the room upset. Yumi went after her, giving Naru an angry glare as she passed. Yumi followed Shinobu up to the stairs and caught up to her.

"Shinobu wait!"

She grabbed the younger girl's wrist stopping her from going any further. Shinobu turned to face the older girl. She wasn't crying but looked as though she was on the verge of tears. She wiped her eyes and tried to smile.

"Don't let her get to you. Do you want to talk about it?"

Shinobu shook her head, "It's nothing. I just don't like being scolded like I'm a little kid."

"I can't honestly blame you. Naru was acting like she was your mother. Does she always act like that?"

"Sometimes, but it's only because she cares about all of us. We're like family"

Yumi smiled to herself, "So it's just how Naru shows she cares? Makes sense I guess."

Shinobu let out a small giggle and went to let everyone else know that breakfast was ready. After breakfast had been eaten Shinobu went to do the dishes while the others went off to do as they pleased.

After she had eaten Yumi spoke to Naru about what had occurred earlier. Naru apologized and the two managed to work things out. After Naru left Yumi walked up to her and offered to help. However, Shinobu had finished the dishes.

"You finished them already?"

Shinobu nodded as she put the last dish away.

Yumi shook her head, "You're good at housework, even better with cooking. You're cute and on top of all that have a great personality. Is there anything about you that isn't perfect?"

Shinobu blushed at the compliment, "Stop, you're embarrassing me."

Yumi giggled, "Anyway there's something I need to talk to you about."

"What's that?"

"Earlier when you were talking to Naru, you mentioned you might like me. What exactly did you mean by that? Do you like me as a friend? Or did you mean you like me as something more than a friend?"

Shinobu became flustered, "W-well I like you as a friend, but that doesn't mean that I don't find you attractive or anything like that!"

Yumi giggled at Shinobu, "I'm just teasing you. But if you like we can go out sometime."

"You mean like a… a date?"

"Well, not a date per se. What I mean is you and I can spend time together as friends."

"I'd like that. Can we go this weekend?"

"It's a date."

Yumi left the now blushing Shinobu to her thoughts. No sooner had she left the room than she bumped into Motoko. Who at this moment looked rather irked.

"Do all Succubi(1) move so quickly into a relationship or is that just you?"

Yumi's eyes narrowed, "What are you insinuating?"

"That you haven't even lived here for a full day yet you've already advanced on a young girl far enough to kiss her and ask her out on a date."

"Oh, that. Well the kiss was a spur of the moment thing. But we aren't going out on a _date_. We're just spending a day together as _friends_. And if I didn't know any better I'd think you were jealous."

Motoko blushed slightly, "Well maybe I would like to spend a day with you as a friend as well."

Yumi couldn't help but smirk. "And you said _I_ was forward. Okay, we can go out the day after I go out with Shinobu."

Yumi gave Motoko a quick kiss on the cheek, causing the swordswoman to blush fiercely. She left the room and ascended the stairs to her rooms. Motoko placed her hand on her cheek where Yumi had kissed her. She smiled a little and suddenly found herself looking very much forward to this coming weekend.

TBC.

(1)- Succubi is the plural form of Succubus.

Okay, so I managed to get this chapter up pretty quick considering that I have a lot to do for classes. I will try not to let myself fall so far behind with updating this story. Next up will be Yumi and Shinobu's _date_. And the chapter after that will be Motoko and Yumi's _date_. Forgive me if I take a while to do these. I'm soft of making the story up as I go along and I criticize myself at almost every paragraph I write. But I will work on them a little each day to ensure they get finished soon.


	5. Chapter 5

Alright, today I'd like to start off by responding to the following reviews.

To Tristan: Thank you for your support. As for who Yumi will choose, well that's a secret but I for one think it will be suitable for the end of the story when the time comes.

To J1210: I'm glad that you like Yumi. I like her too. Then again I created her. As for her having both Shinobu and Motoko wrapped around her finger I plan on using that for later in the story.

To Halo expert: thanx, sorry that the chapters are so short though. It's my first fic here so I never expected it to be good. I also admit that the past few chapters have advanced the story line quickly. I've been trying to slow down a bit with that. I plan on going in to more detail with Yumi's past in future chapters and don't worry I didn't take your criticism the wrong way. In fact it was a great help to me.

To Fujino: Thanx, Yumi is charming in her own way isn't she? Glad you like her and my story.

To Hyrulian Hero Akai: thanx for the positive feedback on my writing and plot. I'm glad people like it because this is my first story and I'm making up the plot as I go along.

Thanx again to all who have read and with out further delay, Chapter 5!

For Shinobu Saturday couldn't come soon enough. She eagerly waited for the days to pass until the day of her and Yumi's _date_. However, much like any other time when you can't wait for something, time seems to tease you through the illusion of moving very slowly. When Saturday finally came, nothing went as planned.

Shinobu woke up late, at about 9:00 A.M. This was approximately two hours later than she usually did to prepare breakfast. She had rushed downstairs and hastily threw together a meal for everyone, nearly burning the food in the process. It was only after she had set the table that she had realized she hadn't even gotten dressed. She was only wearing the oversized white t-shirt she had gone to bed in. The article of clothing came down to just above her mid thigh and if she bent over one could see her panties, which Keitaro did; resulting in him having a nosebleed and then being sent crashing through the wall, courtesy of Naru.

After breakfast she had hurried to do the dishes, not bothering to change clothes first. While washing the dishes she accidentally splashed soapy water all over her shirt. Naru took over washing the dishes for her and sent her along to get ready.

The rest of the morning was less eventful. By 11:00 she was waiting by the front door for Yumi, dressed in a dark blue long sleeve shirt and a black skirt

Yumi descended the stairs. She was dressed in a pink blouse, and blue jeans. She reached the bottom of the stairs and ran up to Shinobu.

"Wow Shinobu, you look cute."

Shinobu blushed, "Thank you. You look nice too."

"Thanks. So where do you want to go for lunch?"

"I know a place that makes the best okonomiyaki. I thought you might like it since you liked the okonomiyaki I made."

"I honestly doubt it could be better that _yours_, Shinobu."

Shinobu blushed and thanked the older girl for her compliment. She led the way seeing as she knew where they were going and Yumi was unfamiliar with the area. After about 5-10 minutes of walking they came to the restaurant. It looked like a quaint little place, probably family owned. Definitely a nice place to get a quick bite to eat.

But there was one problem. It was closed. The windows were boarded up as was the entrance. A note was stuck to the door as well. It was a condemnation notice. Apparently the building was at risk of collapsing in on itself. Needless to say, they weren't going to have lunch there.

Shinobu looked a little sad. She had loved this place. She had actually gotten her recipe for okonomiyaki from this very restaurant. She sighed and let it go. She couldn't let a slight mishap ruin their date. Fortunately there was a sushi bar down the street. They had to wait in line for half an hour but it was worth it.

Inside they were seated at a table for two. Their waiter arrived and handed them their menus. They each ordered a glass of water and decided to split a sampler. It was a large plate with a little of each kind of sushi the restaurant had. They chatted while they waited for their food.

It turned out they had a bit in common. They both loved fairy tales and had the same taste in movies. They continued talking until their food arrived. When it did they thanked the waiter and ate. The food was delicious and they switched the topic of their conversation to it.

"This is so yummy!"

"Yeah, but I bet if you had made it, it would have been better."

Shinobu blushed, "You really think so?"

"Knowing the way you cook, I know so."

They finished eating and paid for their meal. Their next destination was the amusement park. It had been Shinobu's idea to go because she thought Yumi would enjoy it. They walked around and took in the sights. Hours passed and they had been on several of the rides. Yumi had wanted to go into the haunted house but changed her mind when she figured out that Shinobu hated them. Instead they made their way to the Ferris wheel.

After waiting in line for about fifteen minutes they got on the ride. They sat down next to each other in the car and waited for the ride to start. The ride moved; they rose up until they were near the top. Then, suddenly the ride screeched to a halt. At first they thought the ride had stopped to let other people on, but there were sounds of the Ferris wheel's mechanical innards struggling to function.

The girls were tossed from their seat as the ride made one final lurch in an attempt to move again. Then the machinery died, leaving all the people on the ride stuck where they were.

Minutes passed and Shinobu became upset. She wasn't crying but it was obvious she wasn't far from it. Yumi placed a hand on her shoulder and gently squeezed.

"Are you going to be okay?"

Shinobu managed to smile slightly, "I think so, but it's a little scary being stuck up here like this."

"It is. But we hopefully won't be up here that long. I'm sure the owner of the park is working on getting us down from here."

Shinobu seemed a little less upset and the two waited for someone to help them get out of their current predicament. Near an hour passed and they were still stuck. That's when the storm started.

It started with a low rumble of thunder in the distance. The rumble grew louder as time passed. Then lightning began to flash across the sky. Finally a downpour started. All the girls could hear was the sound of rain hitting the car of the Ferris wheel and the claps of thunder as they grew louder.

Now Shinobu was more upset than she had been before. Yumi couldn't blame her. Being stuck on a broken down Ferris wheel was one thing. But being stuck on a broken Ferris wheel during a storm like this was scary. It was only a matter of time before Shinobu was crying. She was terrified. Yumi pulled the crying girl into her lap and began to stroke her hair, hushing her and telling her that everything was going to be alright.

Shinobu cried into Yumi's chest. She felt like a child, crying because she was scared of a storm. Then again she was stuck about two hundred feet in the air in the middle of a storm. Also, it didn't help that is was a known fact that lightning usually strikes the tallest object in the area during these kind of storms.

Down on the ground help had finally arrived. However there were issues with launching a rescue. The plan was to use a cherry picker to get the people off of the ride. But the storm made things to dangerous both due to the lightning and the heavy rain. It wouldn't sit well with any one if someone slipped and fell while trying to get into the cherry picker. They were going to have to wait for the storm to let up and pray that nothing bad could happen.

Thankfully the storm died down. The lightning had stopped and the thunder had faded away. The rain had slowed to a drizzle and they were able to start rescuing people from the now out of order ride. By the time Yumi and Shinobu had been taken out of their car and brought back to ground level, the rain had stopped and the sun was setting.

The owner apologized for the incident. He assured that the man responsible for maintaining the ride, or in this case the man who hadn't maintained the ride, was fired for his incompetence. As a token of apology the owner offered free all day passes to the park to everyone who had been on the Ferris wheel when it had broken down.

Yumi and Shinobu refused the offer. Shinobu was still upset about the whole ordeal and the only thing they wanted was to go home.

It was dark by the time the girls got back. They had missed dinner but weren't feeling hungry. The others were worried. They had seen what had happened on the news and saw the two as they were being rescued. Yumi had told them that they didn't want to talk about it, especially considering that Shinobu was still a little upset about what had happened.

Both girls had taken a quick bath and went to their rooms for bed. It had been a long and trying day and a good night's rest was just what they needed. Yumi lay in her bed awaiting sweet slumber to take her. She was just about to drift off when she heard a light rap at her door.

Cursing under her breath, Yumi got out of bed and opened the door. Shinobu stood there, dressed in her pajamas and clutching her pillow in her arms.

"Yumi, could I stay in your room tonight, pretty please?"

"What? Why?"

"I…I just don't want to sleep by myself tonight. Please?"

Yumi couldn't say no to her. She just looked so cute standing there in her pajamas, with that pleading look in her eyes. Yumi invited her in and let her lie down in her bed with her. Yumi closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep again.

"Yumi, are you asleep yet?"

Yumi let out a sigh, "No. What's wrong?"

Shinobu shifted under the blanket, "I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

Yumi was confused, "Why are you apologizing?"

She heard a sniffling sound. Shinobu was crying softly. "Nothing went right today."

"What are you talking about? I mean I know that the thing with the Ferris wheel wasn't exactly the best way to end our day but…"

"No, I mean that nothing went the way I wanted it to. I slept in, almost burned breakfast, the restaurant I was going to take you to was closed down, and then the amusement park." She let out a small sob, "I wanted to have fun with you but everything went wrong!"

Yumi wrapped her arms around Shinobu and pulled her close.

"Shinobu I think you're overreacting. So a few things went wrong. Big deal. I had fun with you at lunch and at the park. At least until the Ferris wheel that is. And to be honest I'm just glad we got out of that unhurt. As far as I'm concerned, I had a good time with you."

Shinobu smiled. She felt better now that Yumi had said all of that. Se wiped the tears off of her face and pressed her lips to Yumi's in a quick kiss.

"Good night Yumi-chan, and thanks for making me feel better."

Yumi smiled, "Anytime sweetie. Good night."

She snuggled up close to the older girl and they both soon fell asleep.

TBC.

Wow, I didn't think I would get this chapter done so soon. I got writer's block while writing it like three times. Anyway I hope you guys liked it. next chapter will be Yumi and Motoko on their _date_.


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry for taking so long on this chapter. I've been a little hung up with preparing for finals. That and I took a break to write a few x-mas fics. But form here on I'm focusing solely on this. So let me start off by responding to reviews again.

To Yama-mocchan: Glad you liked the date. I hope you enjoy the one Yumi and Motoko have this chapter.

To Halo expert: Thanx. I had a bit of a hard time deciding what would happen.

To Hyrulian Hero Akai: I know that Shinobu did act a little childish. That was my fault because I didn't pay that much attention as to whether she was OOC during that last chapter. But I think I found a way to use what I did last chapter in this one. Also, thanx for the tip on how I can make my chapters longer.

To cookiethief56: Thanx, I thanx. nice to know you like the plot. As for the others finding out about Shinobu sleeping with Yumi and Yumi being harassed by other demons, well I won't say just yet. But I will involve it in this story.

Also, I looked back at the previous chapter and realized that I did go out of character with Shinobu. I'll double check my work more carefully from now on. Just to be safe Shinobu has a potential OOC warning. Now just because I don't want to keep you waiting here's Yumi and Motoko's date.

Disclaimer: I don't own Love Hina or the House of Flying Daggers.

Chapter 6)

Shinobu's head was resting on Yumi's chest. A gentle smile was on her face. She snuggled closer to the half-breed and let out a content sigh. Yumi's eyes fluttered open and she was welcome by the sight of the sleeping beauty at her side. The sunlight was coming in through the window and bathing her in its warm glow. Shinobu looked like an angel sent to earth as she lay there, a soft smile on her face, in the light of the morning sun.

Yumi could have laid there with Shinobu all day; unfortunately she did promise Motoko that they would go out to a movie after lunch. She had to get up and get ready in a few hours but opted to stay in bed a while longer, so Shinobu could get more sleep. She relaxed and closed her eyes, enjoying the sweet bliss of lying in bed. Too bad it didn't last very long.

Motoko had gone to Shinobu's room looking for her. It was way past the usual time Shinobu woke up. Naru had made breakfast for everyone since Shinobu had obviously slept in. Motoko had found the room empty. She went next door to Yumi's room as she hadn't shown up for breakfast either.

Motoko had knocked and received no answer. She knocked again, still no answer. She opened the door a crack and peeked in. Yumi's sleeping form could be seen lying in her bed, under the covers with her backside towards the door.

Quietly opening the door enough to slip inside, Motoko entered Yumi's room. She walked up to the sleeping girl… and froze in her tracks. Motoko felt a few different emotions. The first was that of surprise. That turned to confusion. And that became a mild irritation.

Yumi was fast asleep in her bed like Motoko originally thought. What Motoko hadn't thought of was that Shinobu would be in Yumi's room and lying comfortably in Yumi's arms.

Well at least she knew why Shinobu hadn't woken up to make breakfast. She let out a frustrated sigh and knelt down to wake the two sleeping beauties up. She nudged Yumi's shoulder, roughly enough to wake her, but not so to hurt her.

Yumi sat up, startled. Her sudden movement had woken Shinobu as well. The two got out from underneath the blanket and rubbed the sleep from their eyes. Shinobu's gaze fell on the clock and she was suddenly wide awake.

"Oh no! I slept in again! I need to make breakfast!"

"Naru already took care of that. However I would like a word with you. Alone." She turned to face Yumi, "you might want to eat something and get dressed. We're supposed to head out in a little less than two hours."

Yumi nodded and began to change into her clothes for the day. Motoko led Shinobu out of the room and far away enough so they could speak in private.

"What exactly happened between the two of you after you went to bed last night?"

"I …I don't know what you're talking about. We just slept in the same bed. Nothing happened."

Motoko wanted to believe her, but having seen the way Yumi acted around Shinobu, she wasn't going to let it go without being completely sure.

"Shinobu. I know that you and Yumi are becoming close friends, but that doesn't mean you should let her be so forward with you. The next time she asks you to spend the night in her bed, just let her know you don't want to."

"But, it was my idea to stay with her last night. I didn't want to sleep by myself."

Motoko couldn't believe what she had just heard, "You didn't want to sleep by yourself? That's rather childish. If I didn't know any better I'd say that you really wanted to stay with Yumi last night because you wanted her attention."

Shinobu's face flushed a slight tinge of red. She began to fiddle with her fingers and mumbled something that Motoko didn't quite hear.

"What was that?"

"I…I did do it to get attention from her. On the way back from the amusement park last night I decided I wanted to spend more time with her since out date didn't go the way I had planned it."

Once again Motoko couldn't believe what Shinobu had just said. This was not something she would have ever expected from the young girl.

"Shinobu! That is very immature of you! You may as well have thrown a temper tantrum while you were at it."

Shinobu's face burned red. "S-shut up! You're not my mother Motoko! I may not be as beautiful as you. I'm not as developed. But I am _not_ going to let you take my Yumi-chan from me you floozy!"

Shinobu stormed off. Motoko stood in shock. She had never seen Shinobu lose her temper like that. Today was definitely one surprise after another, and it wasn't even 11:00 yet. She regained her composure and shouted a response to the younger girl.

"Shinobu you aren't acting like yourself! You're acting like a brat!"

Shinobu didn't hear her. She had gone out of earshot before Motoko could even open her mouth to speak. Motoko decided to let it slide…for now. But later she and maybe Naru and Haruka would have a long talk with the young chef. In the mean time she had a date to prepare for.

Noon rolled around and Motoko met up with Yumi on her way to the front door. Motoko was wearing a dark blue miniskirt and a white t-shirt. She hadn't planned on wearing those, but Kitsune _persuaded_ her that it would be a good idea if she did.

Yumi on the other hand was wearing a pair of black jeans and a dark purple t-shirt. When she saw Motoko her jaw dropped. She hadn't been living at the Inn very long, but she had been there long enough to know that what Motoko was wearing wasn't part of her usual attire.

Motoko noticed Yumi's staring at her and blushed, "What?"

"Sorry, it's just; I've never seen you wear those kind of clothes before."

"I wasn't going to. But Kitsune said I should wear them."

Yumi raised her eyebrow in curiosity. "Kitsune told you to wear them?"

"Well, she came to my room this morning…"

_-Flashback-_

Motoko had gotten up early as usual for her daily training. The sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon. The chill of the night was giving way to the warmth of a new day. Motoko had gone to the roof and begun. Two solid hours of training later, she allowed herself to take a breather. By now the sun was fully up and slowly climbing higher into the morning sky.

Her training would have normally lasted longer but Motoko had other plans today. She descended the stairs and returned to her room. She changed into her school uniform which she had planned on wearing for her day out with Yumi. As she was about to leave her room she ran right into Kitsune.

"Motoko, you aren't honestly planning on going out on your date dressed like _that_ are you?"

The next thing she knew was dragged to Kitsune's room. Not allowing the swordswoman a moment to protest, Kitsune immediately started to go through her closet, pulling out different outfits for Motoko to try on. Or rather, to force Motoko to try on. Motoko had been dressed in a nurse's outfit, a waitress' outfit and a maid's out fit before Motoko could point out that none of them were appropriate to wear in public.

Kitsune took that into consideration and continued going through her closet until she found the miniskirt and t-shirt which Motoko changed into. It was still better than walking down a busy street in a nurse's outfit in Motoko's opinion.

Kitsune tried to get Motoko to wear make-up, but the swordswoman managed to talk her out of it. She snuck out while Kitsune was distracted looking through her jewelry to see if there was anything that would look good on Motoko.

Motoko then went downstairs for breakfast.

_-End Flashback-_

Yumi giggled, "So where are we going?"

"I thought it would be nice if we saw a movie. Is that ok with you?"

"That's fine."

The two left the Inn and descended the stairs that led to the street. Motoko led the way, glaring at any guy that glanced her way. The downtown area wasn't that crowded. There were people on the streets going into the stores or just out enjoying the day.

After walking for a good ten minutes or so, they reached their destination. Yumi looked up at the sign on the movie theatre and read the title of the movie.

"'House of Daggers?' Isn't that a martial arts movie?"

Motoko nodded, "I didn't know what kind of movies you liked so I decided on a movie that I've already seen. It's a very good movie. Lots of action."

Yumi tried not to laugh. "You like movies with action? I never would have guessed since you're such a tomboy."

Motoko let the comment slide and bought their tickets. They entered the theatre and found some empty seats. They didn't get any snacks since they had both eaten a late breakfast. The opening previews played and the movie started.

----X----

Yumi found the movie enjoyable. The plot was good and there was lots of action, like Motoko said. She found the lead actress attractive, which made the movie all the more enjoyable to watch. And at some point in the movie, Motoko place her hand over Yumi's. Although Yumi wasn't sure if she intended to do it or if it was by accident, but she didn't complain.

When the movie ended they got up and left the theatre. They walked down the street, trying to decide what to do next. Shinobu was going to make a big dinner to make up for not cooking breakfast so eating at a restaurant was out of the question. After the previous night Yumi didn't feel like going to an amusement park so that was ruled out. In the end the two opted to just walk around for a little while and enjoy the day.

They walked off in a random direction and found themselves at a park. The lush green grass stretched on as far as they could see. A small pond was at the center of the property. There was a variety of trees throughout the park. A paved walkway etched across the landscape with benches here and there for people to sit in when they got tired of walking.

Motoko and Yumi walked around and took in the scenery. After a while they took a seat on a park bench and just talked. At first about the movie, then about school. They didn't have any classes together and only saw each other during lunch so they had a lot to talk about. While they were talking Motoko was trying to think of a way to bring up what has transpired between her and Shinobu that morning. Thankfully for her Yumi brought up the subject.

"So, why did you want to talk to Shinobu this morning?"

"I just thought that you were being forward again since you let Shinobu sleep with you in bed."

"It was actually her idea."

"I know. She told me. She also told me she only did it to get attention from you. Isn't that childish of her?"

Yumi thought for a moment, "I guess, but I also think it's kind of cute. When I woke up with her cuddling next to me, she looked like an angel."

"You, you really like her don't you?"

"I do. I find her attractive. I wouldn't mind in the least if she became my girlfriend."

Motoko felt mildly upset by that. Did Yumi really feel that way about Shinobu? Was there a chance that maybe they could be together? She had to ask her. She needed to know.

"Yumi. Do you think we could possibly be more than just friends?"

Yumi was taken aback. She didn't think that Motoko liked her that way. She thought that the reason Motoko wanted to go out today was because she wanted to spend time together as friends. She thought about it and yes she did find Motoko attractive. In fact she was right up there with Shinobu. But there was something else. Something that she knew would keep her from being able to have any kind of relationship with the swordswoman.

"Motoko, don't take this the wrong way. You are a beautiful girl who I wouldn't hesitate to go out with if I could. But…"

"But what?"

"The fact of the matter is. Your sister murdered my mother. And I want her dead. I can't possibly be with you in a relationship knowing that. I hope that this doesn't ruin our friendship."

Motoko didn't say anything. She only shook her head. It was obvious she wasn't happy about this. She stood up and began to walk back to the Inn. Yumi got up and followed her.

The walk back was unnervingly quiet. Motoko didn't want to talk and Yumi felt it was best she let Motoko be at least until they got back. They arrived home and went inside. They removed their shoes and went upstairs. Before they went their separate ways, Motoko spoke up.

"Yumi. I…I just want to let you know that I had a good time today. And even though you hate my sister, I want you to know that it doesn't change how I feel about you."

Motoko pressed her lips to Yumi's in a chaste kiss. It only lasted a second, but it was enough to surprise Yumi.

"I don't hate you Yumi-chan."

Before Yumi could say anything Motoko left for her room. Yumi brushed the tips of her fingers over her lips. She had no idea that Motoko felt that strongly about her. But that only made her feel worse about turning her down like that. Motoko was her friend and she hurt her. She felt like a bitch. She promised herself that she would find a way to make it up to her.

That night both girls skipped dinner. They just didn't feel like eating.

TBC.

I hope you liked this chapter. Sorry for the long wait but I took a break from writing this story to do a few x-mas oneshots. That and I also have finals this week so my time has been limited.


	7. Chapter 7

Well, my finals are over, and I got winter break work over with so now I have more free time to write. Plus I had some issues with my internet so sorry for the long wait. I'll try not to let it happen again.

Reviews:

To Ninnypants: I agree there really should be a continuous Love Hina yuri fic out there.

To Soda_chex13: Good idea, I think that I'll do something like that. Also, yes as a halfbreed Yumi does have powers. You'll see them soon enough.

To Hyrulian Hero Akai: Sorry to correct you but there are actually two occasions were Shinobu called someone a floozy in the manga. The first was when she went on a date with Keitaro and got drunk. The Second was when she first met Nyamo. Glad that you think I did a better job with Shinobu's character.

To Halo Expert: I don't think Shinobu was _that_ aggressive. It's not like she physically hurt anyone. But there won't be any more of that between them, just some arguing as a result of their rivalry to win Yumi-chan. And don't worry about Yumi turning down Motoko. Motoko isn't the type to give up that easily.

To Chexpup236: thanx I think my story is cute too.

To October Autumn: Don't worry I'll work my butt off to keep this story updated.

Now without further ado: Chapter 7)

Yumi was on her way to the bath. Since her date with Motoko, the two hadn't really spent any time together. Yumi felt bad. She knew that when she turned Motoko down she had upset her. She wanted to do something to make it up to her. But what? Treat her to dinner? Take her to another movie? Neither would be easy, Motoko had been avoiding her.

Yumi sighed, she'd find a way to set things right with her and Motoko. In the mean time a hot bath might help her think of how to do it. If nothing else it would help her relax. She went into the changing room, undressed, entered the bath, washed up and settled down into the soothing hot water.

As Yumi sat in the water she tried to think of how to approach Motoko. She couldn't just walk up to her and say 'Hi Motoko. Sorry if I upset you the other day, wanna go and do something?'

No she had to go about this more delicately. First she had to think of what to do. She wanted to do something that Motoko would really like. Something special too. She racked her brains trying to think of what. She just couldn't come up with anything.

Yumi let out another sigh. This wasn't as easy as she had first thought. Maybe she could ask one of the other girls what Motoko would really like. They might even help her with it. She decided to ask one of them the next opportunity she got.

Fortunately the wait wasn't a long one. Mutsumi entered the bath and joined Yumi in the soothing hot water.

"Oh, hello Yumi-chan. How are you?"

"I could be better; I'm having a slight problem."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Anything I can do to help?"

Yumi figured Mutsumi might know how she could make things up with Motoko.

"Actually yes, I want to do something special for Motoko since I turned her down the other day. But I can't think of what I should do. You've known Motoko longer than I have. What do you think she'd like?"

Mutsumi thought for a few moments. Despite being a bit of a ditz she was very smart and could accomplish quite a bit when she focused and put her mind to it. Not to long after she started thinking her eyes lit up as she got an idea.

"Motoko sometimes goes out to train in the mountains on weekends. Maybe you can join her the next time and the two of you can spend the entire trip together alone. It'll be a great way for you to patch things up with her."

Yumi thought it over. It wasn't a bad idea. In fact it just might work out. It was definitely worth a try at least. Yumi got up, "Good idea. I'll go find Motoko and talk to her about it."

She went to exit the bath and find Motoko. Just as she was leaving Mutsumi gently took hold of Yumi's wrist.

"Wait, Yumi-chan. Here, take this for luck." Mutsumi gave Yumi a quick peck on the cheek, making the halfbreed blush in surprise.

Yumi was confused, did Mutsumi like her too? Mutsumi saw the look of confusion on her face and explained.

"Oh my, I've done it again. I'm sorry but I have a bad habit of kissing people I like. I didn't think of how you'd react."

"Oh, well that's ok. You just caught me by surprise is all."

Thanking Mutsumi for her help and kind gesture Yumi turned around and went to leave the bath again. Unfortunately she slipped and fell on top of Mutsumi, knocking them both down. Yumi landed on top of Mutsumi, with her face against the older girl's chest. Needless to say the position they were in looked suggestive.

Then things got worse as at that moment both Shinobu and Motoko walked into the bath area and were greeted by the site of Yumi lying on top of Mutsumi. Both girls were shocked by the sight and immediately became jealous. Shinobu looked very upset and Motoko was just plain furious at what she was seeing. Completely forgetting that she came to take a nice soothing bath, Motoko voiced her outrage.

"Yumi! I can't believe you! I thought you were better than this, but now I see that you're just a womanizer!"

"Motoko! This isn't what it looks like! Please give me a chance to explain!"

"I don't want to hear your excuses Yumi!"

"But…"

"No buts! Meet me up on the roof. We shall settle things there."

Motoko left in a huff. Yumi was both upset and confused. She was upset because now things had gotten worse between her and Motoko. But did what Motoko said mean she wanted to fight? Yumi didn't know if she could do that. Yumi turned to ask Shinobu what she should do. But Shinobu was also gone. She was obviously just as upset as Motoko about this whole thing and must have run off, probably crying. That only made Yumi feel worse.

Checking to make sure Mutsumi was alright first, Yumi left the bath and got dressed. She then went to meet Motoko on the roof. She took her time, hoping that Motoko might calm down a bit if she did. When she got to the roof, Motoko was there but still fuming. The other girls and Keitaro were there also.

When Motoko had left the bath she ran into Naru on the way to her room. She noticed that Motoko was upset and asked what was wrong. Motoko summed it all up in a single sentence. That she and Shinobu had _"Interrupted an intimate moment between Yumi and Mutsumi." _Naru went to check on Shinobu and found her in her room, very upset.

It was only a matter of a few minutes before all the others had heard what happened and knowing Motoko, guessed were this was going so they assembled on the roof. Motoko stood battle ready in her shrine maiden uniform. She held her sword in her hand, waiting for Yumi to arrive.

Yumi swallowed the lump in her throat. Looked like she was going to have to fight after all. She tried one last time to reason with the swordswoman.

"Motoko, wouldn't it be easier for us to just talk this over?"

"You're not taking the easy route out of this Yumi-_chan_. I plan on going through with this. And if you win I'll forgive you for what you did and accept your decision. However if I win then you will train under me as my student and…" Motoko blushed as she said this, "go steady with me."

Nobody was completely sure of what they just heard. It was definitely out of Motoko's character to say something like that. Yumi was most confused of all. That had come out of nowhere. She stared blankly at Motoko, wondering if she heard her right. The others were doing pretty much the same. Except for Shinobu who was glaring at Motoko.

Motoko was slightly embarrassed. She didn't know what possessed her to say that but it wasn't as though she didn't mean it. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. It was too late to take back what she had just said. She needed to focus on the battle.

Wasting not another second she charged at Yumi making the first move of the battle.

"Rock splitting maneuver!"

Yumi managed to get out of the way just in the nick of time. She couldn't have been more grateful that she was quick on her feet. However that wouldn't be much help in the long run. She didn't know how to fight, especially not against someone with as much experience as Motoko.

Motoko didn't allow Yumi any time to recover; she went straight into her next attack. She didn't want to hurt Yumi. In fact she was intentionally missing. Her plan was to just continually attack until Yumi gave up. She knew that it was only a matter of time and she would win.

Yumi dodged Motoko again only to have the swordswoman immediately turn and lunge at her again. Yumi quickly retreated and was quickly met by yet another attack by Motoko.

"Steel cutting flash!"

Yumi barely got out of the way in time and lost her balance in the process, nearly falling flat on her butt.

"Motoko please stop!"

Motoko didn't listen. She charged again and once again Yumi dodged. Things weren't looking good. Yumi didn't know how much longer she could keep this up. She knew she couldn't match Motoko in physical combat, but there was _something _she could do. But she had to act fast and be very careful because she could actually kill Motoko by doing this if she wasn't.

Succubi are able to charm and seduce others through a type of illusion. They are also able to use illusions to confuse, scare and distract. In some illusions the victim may be attacked and because their brains register the illusion as being real, the pain is real even though no actual harm was done. Some illusions are even strong enough to kill as they either scare one to death or the victim suffers a fatal wound during the illusion thus causing the brain of the victim to register that they have died.

That is why Yumi had to do this carefully. If she overdid it she could actually harm Motoko.

The next time Motoko attacked, Yumi dodged like she had the other times, only this time she tripped Motoko in the process. Motoko fell, letting go of her sword to stop herself using both hands. Yumi quickly grabbed Motoko and pinned her with her back on the ground.

"Motoko I'm really sorry about this."

Yumi looked Motoko in the eyes. Her eyes glowed and put Motoko under the illusion.

Motoko broke free of Yumi's hold and stood up. She went to retrieve her sword when she noticed something. She was sinking. She looked at the ground, confused. It was then she realized she was standing in some sort of muck. That was when she noticed that her surroundings had changed. She was no longer on the roof of the Hinata Inn, but in the middle of the woods at the shoreline of a swamp-like pond and her feet were stuck in the mud.

She was completely confused about what was going on. Deciding that standing around wasn't going to get her answers she opted to get out of the mud and onto drier land. She walked slowly and carefully lest she should sink into the soft muddy ground and end up getting stuck. She had almost made it when something caught hold of her foot.

Motoko tugged her leg, trying to free herself. Her foot finally pulled free, and Motoko saw why she had got stuck.

Something's arm was reaching out of the mud and grasping her ankle.

Motoko let out a cry of surprise and kicked at the appendage. It relinquished its hold of her and the rest of its body emerged from the muck. Motoko looked on in horror as the creature revealed itself. It was as large as a man, but it had scaly green skin and was bald. Its eyes were soulless and black as onyx. Its mouth was a sharp hooked beak, it had wicked curved claws on its hands and feet where fingers should have been and its whole body was encased in armor like shell.

Motoko had never seen anything like it. But she had seen things similar to it in when she had nightmares. The creature looked like a big humanoid turtle. Motoko reached for her sword, but it was nowhere to be found. She backed away from the creature slowly, hoping if she didn't make any sudden moves she could get away.

Step by step she retreated from the monstrosity. She was terrified out of her mind. It was all she could do to not scream and run away like a coward, but that might startle or anger the monster and provoke it to attack her.

She kept moving backwards at a slow and steady pace, not taking her eyes of the beast in front of her. It didn't advance toward her, it just stood there. Motoko kept moving until she bumped into something. At first she thought it was a tree, but it was wet and slimy. She turned around and came face to face with another turtle creature, its black eyes staring at her hungrily as its sharp beak snapped shut only a centimeter from her face.

This time Motoko did scream. She screamed and ran, but slipped in the mud and fell. As she struggled to her feet she saw more of the creatures crawling out of the muck and emerging from the water. They were all around her. She turned to run again but found one of them directly behind her. She backed away only to bump into another one. They were closing in on her.

Motoko was at a loss. There was nowhere to run, she didn't have her sword and those nightmarish turtle creatures were only seconds from tearing her apart. Motoko's fear got the better of her and her world went black.

--------------

Motoko's eyes fluttered open. She sat up and rubbed her eyes drowsily. What happened? Where was she? As the memory came back to her she suddenly became fully awake and quickly looked around.

She was back in her room, in her bed. The creatures were nowhere in sight. She tried to make sense of what the heck was going on. One minute she's fighting Yumi, the next she was in the middle of nowhere about to be eaten by those disgusting creatures and then she wakes up in her room. She couldn't make sense of any of it.

Then she realized something. What had happened to the others when all that had been going on? Were they alright? Had those monsters gotten them? She got to her feet and ran to her bedroom door. She opened it and ran smack dab into Yumi.

Yumi, seeing that Motoko was awake and unhurt, pulled her into an embrace.

"Motoko, you're awake! I'm so sorry Motoko! Please don't hate me!"

Motoko pried Yumi off of her, "Yumi, what's going on here?"

"I… earlier I cast an illusion on you. I only meant for it to last long enough for me to take your sword from you but I made the illusion too powerful and you passed out. I was so scared; I thought I had hurt you. I'm sorry Motoko. Please forgive me."

Motoko took all of this in. Those things that attacked her, it was all just an illusion? That made sense. And she did recall her sister warning her that some demons, like Succubi, could make people hallucinate. She was slightly mad at herself for not taking into consideration the fact that Yumi was half succubus.

As for the whole incident being an accident, Motoko believed it. Yumi was very sincere with her apology and seemed heavily upset by the whole ordeal. In fact it looked like she might have been crying. So she accepted Yumi's apology.

"I forgive you. But don't think for a second that I'm not still angry with you for earlier!"

"Motoko I tried to tell you but you wouldn't let me. I was taking a bath with Mutsumi and we talked. I went to leave the bath to find you and I sort of…" Yumi started to poke her fingers together, "slipped and fell on top of her."

"Yumi that's the type of lame excuse I'd expect from Urashima."

Yumi giggled a tiny bit. "It does sound like something he'd say but it's the truth I swear!"

Motoko sighed, "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt this time. Just don't let it happen again."

"Don't worry I won't. After all, I don't want to end up like Keitaro."

"Ugh, that's the last thing we need. Another person like _him_ around; I don't think I could live like that."

They both laughed a little at that. They went downstairs and joined the others. Everyone was relieved to see that Motoko was okay and happy that she and Yumi had made up. Shinobu prepared dinner and they all sat down to a peaceful meal. That is until Keitaro had one of his incidents.

The poor sap had gotten up, tripped over his own feet and fell. He threw his hands out to stop his fall, and ended up groping Yumi's chest in the process. The result: a _very_ angry Motoko sending him on a trip through the atmosphere.

TBC.

Once again sorry for the wait. I plan on getting the next chapter up soon and this time I mean it!


	8. Chapter 8

This chapter is very important. I for one am quite proud of how it turned out.

Reviews:

To J1210: Thanx for your reviews on the last few chapters. Glad that you like Yumi's powers. I actually got the idea for them from Rosario + Vampire. One of the characters is a succubus and I based Yumi's powers off of that.

To Hyrulian Hero Akai: Thanx; and I love the way to refer to Shinobu as Maehara-Hime. It really suits her; she's my favorite girl in the manga/anime series. Glad you like Yumi's powers too. Like I said before I got the idea from Rosario + Vampire.

To soda_chex13: thanx, I originally planned to do something like that. But I got another idea. I just don't see Yumi as the fighting type, even though she did pull that stunt during the first chapter of my story when she saw Motoko. But I think that just shows she isn't a good fighter.

To midnight,moon: Glad you like my story. And yes Yumi does have a tail. As well as a set of wings and she has long, claw like fingernails. It's just that she needs to hide them by taking on a human shape, even though Succubi do look like humans as it is. Once again I got the idea from Rosario + Vampire. I'd tell you what happens as far as Yumi and Motoko getting together is concerned, but i don't want to give away the end.

To: DevilxChild: thanx, glad to know that more and more people are reading and liking my story.

To October Autumn: yeah Yumi's power is interesting.

To Ninnypants: A little confused about your review, it said "YumixMotoko=" and that was it. YumixMotoko= ???

To Fujino: I agree that Shinobu is super kawaii when she's jealous. That's why I _had_ to have a scene where she was jealous about something.

To XXCookieXmeowgirl: Glad you like the story so far. And don't worry, I'll be writing lots of Love Hina stuff so long as I have the time. Until then enjoy the rest of this story.

And finally here's Chapter 8)

It was Friday, and school had just ended. Yumi couldn't wait for her weekend to start. This weekend she was going home to visit her father. She hadn't seen him since she had moved and missed him very much. She rushed back to the Inn and up to her room so she could pack. She was going to head out as soon a possible.

Once she had finished packing she rushed downstairs for a quick snack. She didn't eat the food served at school. She just didn't like it. So most days she skipped lunch and just ate a quick snack after school. Plus, by skipping lunch she had more room at dinner for Shinobu's delicious cooking. It was too bad she wasn't going to get to have any tonight.

Grabbing an apple she rushed for the front door, passing Motoko and Naru on the way.

"Yumi, there you are. You didn't wait to walk home with me today."

"Sorry Motoko, but I'm going home to visit my father this weekend. I guess I was so excited that I forgot we were supposed to meet after school got out."

"That's okay Yumi-chan. You have a nice weekend with your father."

"I will. See you on Sunday night."

Yumi left. As she walked away she turned and waved to the other girls. Naru and Motoko waved back. Feeling mischievous, Yumi winked at Motoko and blew her a kiss. She wasn't disappointed when Motoko blushed, just as she had expected. She giggled to herself as she descended the stairs.

Naru shook her head at Motoko's reaction to Yumi's flirting.

"Motoko, you really like her don't you?"

Motoko turned her attention to Naru, "Yes, I do."

"So why don't you just tell her?"

"I already tried to. But she said it wouldn't work out between us. Because of the whole issue with my sister."

Naru put her hand on Motoko's shoulder, "You shouldn't let that come between the two of you. If you really love her you should find a way for the two of you to get past that."

Motoko shrugged Naru's hand off, "You're one to talk. What about you and Keitaro?"

Naru blushed, "What about us?"

"What's your reason for not telling him you love him?"

The blush on Naru's face deepened, "What?! I don't love him! At least I don't think I do."

Unknown to both girls, Kitsune was at the top of the stairs, listening to their conversation. Hearing Naru's denial of her feelings for Keitaro, she spoke up.

"Is that so Naru? You could've fooled me. Especially after last week."

Naru and Motoko turned to face her. Naru seemed to have become nervous after what Kitsune said.

"Kitsune! How long were you standing there?"

"Since you started tellin' Motoko to tell Yumi she loves her."

Motoko raised her eyebrow in curiosity, "What did you mean by 'last week' Kitsune?"

"Oh nothing really, it's just that Naru was cuddling with him in his room…in _his_ bed."

Naru's face turned beet red, "It wasn't what it looked like!"

Kitsune smirked, "Naru the only one you're foolin' is yourself." She turned to Motoko, "but seriously, you should try to help Yumi get past the fact that your sister murdered her mother."

"Actually I'm already working on that. Since Yumi won't be here for the weekend, I decided to invite my sister over so we could discuss the matter. I'm hoping if I can find out why my sister did it, then I can help convince Yumi to forgive her."

Both Naru and Kitsune found it to be a good idea. Motoko was expecting her sister to arrive within the hour and went to change out of her school uniform.

About half an hour later, Tsuroko arrived. Motoko met her at the front door and greeted her with a respectful and formal bow.

"Thank you for coming to visit Nee-san."

"Thank you for inviting me little sister."

Motoko and Tsuroko went to sit in the living room. Shinobu brought them some tea and then she went to her room to study. The two sisters sat and sipped their tea for awhile, just chatting and catching up. Motoko was trying to think of how to go about asking Tsuroko about Yumi's mother, when Tsuroko gave her the opportunity to bring the subject up.

"Motoko, why is it you needed to see me? I doubt you only asked me to come and visit just so we could sit and talk."

"To be honest I needed to talk to you about a very serious matter. Do you remember a time when you killed a demon, which had a child with a human?"

Tsuroko thought for a moment, "I can only recall one occasion where that happened. She was a succubus and had a daughter. Why do you ask?"

Motoko took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for however her sister might react.

"The daughter of that succubus, she's living here. She and I have grown close, but she still harbors ill feelings towards you. I was hoping you could tell me why you killed her mother."

Motoko wasn't sure of what would happen next. Tsuroko might be angered by the fact Motoko had befriended a demon, or she might not want to talk about the matter at all. But what she didn't expect was the way Tsuroko really reacted. She had definitely never seen her sister this way before. Tsuroko Aoyoma looked ashamed of herself, completely and utterly ashamed.

"I remember that day too well. It's one of my deepest regrets."

"What do you mean? What happened?"

------------

Meanwhile, Yumi had just gotten off the train and exited the station. She could have called her father and asked him to come and pick her up, but since it was so nice out she felt like walking. Her house was only 20 minutes away. She walked down the street, enjoying the warmth of the sun.

Several minutes passed and something didn't seem right. Yumi looked around. She could have sworn she was heading in the right direction, but if so she should've arrived home by now. In fact, none of her surroundings looked familiar.

She started to feel worried; she looked for someone to ask for directions. Then she realized that there was nobody around either. Now she was feeling afraid. Something was definitely wrong.

------------

Back at the Inn, Tsuroko retold her side of the story concerning the death of Yumi's mother.

"The whole incident could have been avoided if I hadn't acted so rashly. I was deceived and the worst part is how easily it happened."

Motoko was taken by surprise. Her sister acting rashly? Being easily deceived? That didn't sound right. She wanted to ask her what she meant, but felt it best not to interrupt her.

"To put it simply, I fell prey to an illusion, cast by a succubus. A rather powerful one too. It caught me completely of guard and caused me to murder that poor child's mother."

----------

Yumi ran up to one of the houses and knocked. No answer. She knocked again, louder this time. Still no answer. She tried another house. No answer their either. She tried again and again, each time no one answered. She began to panic. It made no sense. Why was nobody around? She ran up to yet another house, praying that someone would answer this time.

That's when she heard it. Laughter. Not joyful laughter, but an evil cackle. The shrill sound sent chills down Yumi's spine and then she watched as her surroundings shifted and melted. She wasn't on the street, she wasn't even outside. She was in an old, abandoned warehouse.

At least that's what she thought. It looked like one, as far as she could tell from movies and television. It had a high ceiling, windows that were broken and filthy, and was just huge in size. She looked around, seeking the source of the noise that had gotten her attention.

From the shadows, a figure emerged. It was a woman. A woman with pitch black hair that went down to her mid back, pale skin, and a pair of demonic looking grey eyes. She was slightly taller that Yumi, and clearly older, even though she looked quite young. She had a perfect hour-glass figure and long legs that would any man go crazy.

But that isn't what Yumi noticed right away. What she did notice was that this woman's ears were pointed, that her fingernails were actually long, dagger-like claws, and that she had a pair of black, bat-like wings and a devil's tail that hung down to her knees. Yumi knew very well what this woman was, because her mother had been one.

This woman was a succubus.

She advanced towards Yumi. A playful, yet evil glint in her fierce looking eyes. Yumi backed away and soon found herself backing into a corner. The succubus kept advancing until she was blocking any possible escape for Yumi.

Her lips spread into a twisted smile, "Hello Yumi. I've been waiting for you."

Yumi was afraid. She didn't know why but her instincts were telling her that she was in danger. The fact that the succubus knew who she was didn't help matters at all.

"Who…who are you?"

The succubus stepped closer, her eyes full of malicious intent, "My name is of no importance to you. All you need to know it that you're going to die at my hands, just like your mother did."

Yumi's fear was now mixed with shock and confusion, "W-what? But my mother was killed…"

"By that sword wielding brat from the Aoyoma family? Yes, but who do you think got her to kill your mother? It was so easy to trick her into doing it too."

------------

"So you were tricked into killing Yumi's mother?"

Tsuroko nodded, "I was returning from training in the mountains one day when it happened. I had left the woods and was about to make my way home when a woman ran up to me. She was bleeding very badly and crying hysterically. She was raving about monsters coming to her house and killing her family."

Motoko was confused. She didn't see what that had to do with Yumi's mother. Not wanting to interrupt she sat quietly and let Tsuroko continue.

"Seeing the condition the woman was in I tried to tend to her wounds. But she refused, telling me I should run as the creatures that killed her family were probably following her. Before I could get a word in she ran off. She was headed toward the city which wasn't very far. I felt it would be best to let her go since she would obviously get the medical attention she needed when she got there. It was then I went in the direction she had come from.

I soon found what I assumed was her home, a small house at the edge of the woods. What awaited me when I got there was a scene of pure carnage. There was blood and gore everywhere, and as far as I could tell there were no survivors. It was then I saw them. Two grotesque beasts, one large and one small, emerged from the house. They walked on two legs and looked very much like gargoyles. Both of them had blood all over their hands and mouths. The smaller one was dragging a dead body with it.

Knowing I had the element of surprise on my side I waited for the best moment to make my attack. It came when the larger of the two turned its back towards me. I took the opportunity without hesitation. I thought that if I were to strike the bigger one with a lethal attack when it wasn't looking, then I might be luck enough to catch the smaller one by surprise and quickly destroy it as well. I was right; I sliced the head off of the larger beast and the smaller one dropped the body and let out a shriek. Not giving it a chance to counter attack I went to kill it as well when the strangest thing happened.

A man came out of the house and screamed with despair when he saw the monster I decapitated. He turned to see me about to attack the smaller one and begged me to stop. He ran over and stood between me and the little beast. He stood his ground and the monster ran into the house crying.

It was at this point I was horribly confused. This man, who looked no older than his mid thirties, was fighting back tears in his eyes. He seemed so grief stricken over the dead monster. And then there was the other monster that had actually run away crying. I had seen many things fighting demons and the like, but I had never seen a monster cry. It made no sense."

Motoko suddenly understood what was going on, "It was all just an illusion wasn't it?"

Tsuroko nodded, "When I realized that, the illusion broke. All the blood and gore was gone, the dead body turned out to just be a doll, and the 'monster' I had killed was a woman. I wanted to think it was all just a bad dream and that I would wake up any second. But in the end there was no denying it; I had murdered someone in cold blood, albeit unintentionally."

Tsuroko stopped there, letting her gaze fall to the floor. Motoko waited for her to say more, but she didn't. She knew there was more, and she needed to know it.

"What happened after that?"

Tsuroko looked back up, "I tried to explain everything to the man. He seemed reluctant to believe me at first and I couldn't blame him for it. Surprisingly, when I told him that I was under a spell, he didn't question me. It was then he told me that his wife, who was the one I killed, was a succubus so he was familiar with the concept of illusions. He even told me who he thought was responsible for casting the illusion on me."

"Did you ever find out whom?"

"Yes. It turns out he knew who was responsible. She was an old friend of his wife's. Her name is…"

------------

"Mizore!" Yumi's eyes lit up with realization, "I remember you know! You were a friend of my mother's! Why would you do something like that to my mother!?"

Mizore cackled, "_Friend?_ Ha! Yes I was once friends with your mother. But that was before she went all soft on me. She shamed all demons by wedding and raising a child with a human. I tried to kill her myself but she was too string for me. I bided my time trying to think of a way to end her worthless existence, and one day I was lucky enough to come across that Aoyoma girl as she left the mountains near your home. I hid in the woods and cast my illusion before she had a chance to sense my presence. Then I watched as she went and killed your mother!" She cackled again, "The look on her face when she realized what she did was priceless! It's such a shame she didn't get to kill you as well. I was planning on doing it myself and then killing that father of yours as well."

Her wicked smile melted into a foul grimace, "But that Aoyoma bitch found me out and I had to lay low for a while. So I've been watching you and waiting for the right moment to strike. I would have killed you sooner but I decided to watch you for a bit. I started to think that I could take you in and teach you how to act like a true demon, but then I saw you with that girl."

She spat in Yumi's face, "You're disgusting! Flirting with humans! You're just as bad as that pathetic excuse of a mother of yours! I changed my mind and went back to my original plan to just up and kill you. But first I'm going to kill your father and that little girlfriend of yours. Shinobu, that's her name right?"

Yumi's sense of fear grew. Things had just gotten much, much worse.

TBC.

Well that took long. I'm sorry to just end the chapter like that as I know many will be eager to see what happens next. But I'm working on the next chapter right now and plan on getting it up soon.


	9. Chapter 9

I would have had this up sooner, but I had the rotten luck to be given two essay assignments that were not only issued during the same week but to have them due at practically the same time. So I've been spending more time at the library than writing this. So sorry for the wait, hopefully that's the end of my essays this semester. Well anyway let's go over the reviews I got.

To medical motoko mcdowell: Sorry I like the name too. It just popped into my head when I created the character. You wouldn't happen to like the Mizore from Rosario vampire would you?

To kenakamatsu: don't worry I don't like sad endings in my stories, if I wanted something like that I'd just watch TV.

To katsoul28: Thanx for the update on your pen name being changed. Hope you like the new chapter.

Chapter 9)

Tsuroko told Motoko about the Succubus called Mizore and how she found out about her from what Yumi's father told her. After clearing up the incident the two of them met and discussed the matter. They met at Tsuroko's house since Yumi was terrified of her and wouldn't listen to reason. Little Yumi refused to believe that Tsuroko was innocent when she had seen Tsuroko kill her mother.

Tsuroko searched for Mizore, determined to make amends for what she did. She spent countless hours trying to find her, but to no avail. A year had passed and she still had no luck in her search. She, despite her best efforts, had failed and was left with no choice but to give up. It was with a heavy heart that she told Yumi's father that she had made no progress and could not continue.

When Tsuroko had finished she let her gaze sink to the floor, merely staring at it as brining up these memoires made her remember the shame that came with them. Motoko saw the look on her sister's face; the same face that was usually accompanied by a look of confidence and strength. Seeing Tsuroko so ashamed made something well up inside her. She stood suddenly, a look of determination on her face.

"I want to help."

Tsuroko snapped out of her trance and looked up at her younger sister.

"What?"

"I want to help you find this Mizore woman and defeat her for what she did."

"Motoko, it's been years since then, she's probably long gone."

Motoko had thought of that but didn't let it falter. "But there must be something we can do."

Tsuroko stood and placed her hand on Motoko's shoulder, "Motoko I admire and am grateful that you want to help, but by now it's too late. That succubus was clever enough to catch me off guard and use me like that, not to mention escape and leave me searching for a trail for an entire year. I highly doubt we'd be able to find her after all this time."

Motoko accepted the reality of it. Her sister was right. The odds of being able to find Mizore and catch her in Japan alone were definitely against them. And that was assuming that she was still in Japan at all.

Fortune smiled on them that moment. Shinobu came into the room that moment, looking very worried.

"Motoko! I think Yumi's in trouble!"

Motoko was at her side instantly, "What? What's going on? Is she alright?"

"I-I don't know! Her father just called and asked if she was here. He said she hasn't come home yet and she isn't answering her cell phone!"

Motoko turned to her sister, "Nee-san, you don't think that…"

Tsuroko nodded, "Perhaps she isn't as clever as I first thought."

Shinobu had no idea what they were talking about. Before she could question either of the swordswomen, Motoko turned her attention back to her.

"Shinobu, I need you to go and find Su. Tell her it's very important."

"Um okay, but why?"

"No time to explain, just go! Yumi may be in grave danger!"

That was enough reason for Shinobu to run off and search for Su, although she still didn't know what was happening.

A few minutes later Su came bounding down the stairs.

"Hiyas Motoko! Shinobu said you wanted to see me?"

"Yes, I have a very important favor to ask you."

.

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While Motoko and Tsuroko were organizing a search for Yumi, she was currently trying to plead with her captor.

"Please, leave them alone! They aren't the ones you want!"

Mizore smiled wickedly, "You're right. But I want to see you suffer a little first. So I'm going to kill them and bring their heads back as proof."

"No! Please don't! You can't!"

Mizore laughed, "I can and I will. And you know why? Because you love them. Before you die I want you to know that I killed the people you loved most and that there was nothing you could do to stop me."

"No! I won't let you!"

Yumi's eyes glowed and Mizore was caught in an illusion. Yumi vanished and the warehouse was in flames.

Mizore scoffed, "Pathetic. Is this the best you can do?" She walked through the fire, unharmed. "You do realize that the illusion only works if your target is unaware that it's an illusion right? Otherwise it will have no effect."

The illusion faded, the flames vanished and Mizore spotted Yumi trying to sneak out. She quickly positioned herself in front of Yumi and grabbed her by the throat.

"Now let me show you what a Succubus's true power is. Let me show you an illusion so powerful that it'll break you no matter how hard you try to fight it."

Mizore's eyes glowed and released her hold on Yumi. Yumi found herself surrounded in pitch black darkness. It was getting cold, very cold. Yumi could actually feel her body temperature drop with the surrounding environment. Soon she felt too cold to move.

Somewhere she heard Mizore cackling. The darkness seemed to amplify the sound, making it echo from all directions. It even seemed to be coming from inside her own head.

"It's rather sad really. You thought you could outsmart me with an illusion, but only ended up falling into my illusion instead. And all because you care so much about those closest to you." She cackled, "I suppose humans see that as admirable, but have you ever stopped to think as to whether those people return your love? I suppose your father does, but what about your little friends. Don't think I haven't noticed that you've also gotten the attention of that Aoyoma girl. How amusing you befriend the flesh and blood of your mother's murderer."

Yumi tried to ignore her. But in the end all she could do was stand there, frozen, being tormented by Mizore's disembodied voice.

"You actually think those girls _love_ you? Fool they're only attracted to you because they are under your spell. All Succubi are capable of entrancing humans. You find them attractive and are subconsciously using your powers to seduce them. There is no such thing as true love or love at first sight. That's all just a load of sugar-coated fairytale bullcrap that humans tell their children to give them a pathetic feeling of hope in an otherwise cruel world."

Yumi's will was beginning to waver. For a split second, she almost believed what Mizore said. She managed to snap herself out of it. There was no way it could be true, even if it made sense. No! Yumi kept telling herself it was all a lie.

Mizore's twisted smile grew as she saw Yumi weaken. She only needed to keep this up a little longer and she'd break Yumi's spirit.

Minutes later the deed was done. Yumi's will had been broken. Mizore ended the illusion and Yumi collapsed to the floor. Mizore approached her and kicked her in the side.

"Well that was disappointing. I was hoping you'd last longer than that. Hopefully killing your father and friends will prove to be more fun. I think I'll kill your father first since he's the one to blame for all this in the first place."

She turned to leave. As she approached the door it flew open, revealing one Motoko Aoyoma. She saw Yumi lying on the floor a distance away and fixed an ice cold glare on the obvious culprit: Mizore.

"What did you do to her!?!"

Mizore was taken by complete surprise, but did not lower her guard.

"How did you get here? I made sure no one followed her when I lured her here!"

Motoko smirked and held up a small hand held device.

"I know a girl who's very good with machines. She made this tracking device to home in on the signal from Yumi's cell phone. All I had to do was input her phone number and then it led me here, like a GPS."

Mizore just gawked at the young swordswoman. She _never_ would have anticipated anything like this. She shook it off and used her wings to dash back to her captive and use her as an impromptu shield if necessary. She knew better than to pick a fight with anyone from the Aoyoma lineage.

"So you found me, that doesn't change the fact I've got the little halfbreed in my clutches. Make one false move and she dies!"

Motoko merely stood there, and looked on. Mizore wondered why she hadn't even made a reply to her threat. She got her answer when she noticed the presence of someone else.

"I beg to differ. It's you who shouldn't make any false moves Mizore."

Mizore's eyes widened with shock and realization. Tsuroko Aoyoma was standing near her, holding her sword with the tip just centimeters from her throat.

"You! But how…"

"I was visiting my younger sister when Yumi's father called saying she was missing. Having the feeling you might have been behind it all, Motoko and I immediately set to work. Now step away from her, slowly."

Mizore did as she was told. She slowly moved away from Yumi, making sure not to do anything that might provoke Tsuroko to attack. Tsuroko followed, keeping her blade positioned near the other woman's throat, ready in case she tried anything funny.

Once she led Mizore a safe distance away, Tsuroko signaled it was okay for Motoko to move in. She ran straight to Yumi and checked to see if she was in need of medical attention. She first checked for a pulse and immediately pulled her hand away.

Yumi did have a pulse, but she was freezing cold. Motoko picked her up, carrying her bridal style.

"Nee-san, I'm going on ahead. Yumi may need medical attention!"

Tsuroko nodded to her, "Then get going, I'll handle the rest."

In the second that Tsuroko turned her attention to Motoko, Mizore made her move. She flapped her wings as hard as she could, launching her away from the older Aoyoma sister and her blade. She landed a short distance away, casting a menacing glare at Motoko.

"Oh no you don't! I'm not letting you escape so easily!"

Tsuroko quickly positioned herself between Mizore and Motoko. She took an offensive stance and returned Mizore's glare.

"I don't think so. You've caused enough trouble for that poor girl. It's time you paid for your crime."

Mizore's eyes glowed, casting her illusion on Tsuroko. It was similar to the one she put Yumi in. Tsuroko found herself in total darkness and felt the temperature drop rapidly. She calmly closed her eyes and steadied her breathing.

Mizore felt a smug sense of satisfaction as she saw the illusion take affect. Not hesitating she rushed towards Tsuroko will the intent to kill.

Tsuroko stood her ground, listening for Mizore's approach. She knew that she couldn't rely on her sight when in an illusion. So she had trained herself to use her hearing for situations like this, especially since her last unfortunate encounter.

When she heard Mizore closing in she smiled; with cat-like reflexes she swung her blade, sending a wave of chi toward the oncoming Succubus. The attack hit Mizore with the force of a wrecking ball and sent her hurtling through the air and crashing through a window.

Mizore landed outside; she had seen the attack just in time and manage to defend herself, but was still hurt by it. She got back up to her feet and saw Motoko, still carrying Yumi, as she left the warehouse. Motoko saw her. She set Yumi down gently and then drew her blade.

Mizore didn't have a chance to do anything before Motoko came at her and hit her with a second attack, this one knocking her upwards and sending her flying into the atmosphere, much like Keitaro after one of his 'incidents'.

Motoko looked on as Mizore shot out of sight. A bead of sweat ran down her face.

"I think I may have overdone it."

Tsuroko had come out of the warehouse just in time to witness what happened. She walked up to her sister, "It would seem so. You should really work on self control Motoko."

Motoko blushed, slightly embarrassed. She picked Yumi up again and immediately set off for the hospital.

TBC.

Okay, sorry to leave you hanging like this but I didn't know how else to end this chapter. Anyway, next up will be Yumi's recovery, don't worry it won't be anything serious. Like I said earlier, I don't care for sad endings, too depressing.


	10. Chapter 10

Alright I'm back again with the next chapter, which will sadly be the last. As much as I hate to end this story, I do have other stories I need to work on. I'd just like to thank all my readers for their reviews throughout the duration of this story.

Reviews:

To YSRS: Thanx, glad you like it.

To medical motoko mcdowell: I sent you a private message concerning your review. Let me know what you think of my idea.

To J1210: It's alright, I have a lot of stories I haven't even been able to keep up with. So I don't mind if you forgot to review on the last chapter. Hope you like this one as well.

To Ninnypants: yeah, Mizore is sexy, that's what I was going for. I hate myself for making her evil, but hey she's the antagonist in this story.

ToKatsoul28: Sorry, but no mature content, its suggestive themes. But I guess you could confuse the two. And like I said before I don't like depressing endings either.

And here it is, Chapter 10)

Motoko had gotten Yumi to the nearest hospital as quickly as possible. Tsuroko went with her, seeing as trying to find Mizore would be a fruitless effort considering the distance she had gotten when she was sent flying.

Once at the hospital Motoko called the others to let them know the situation. Tsuroko made a call to Yumi's father to do the same. They all rushed over as soon as they could to see Yumi. The doctor had told them that Yumi had suffered psychological trauma and there was little he could do. However he told them that she should wake up any time.

The following day Yumi had regained consciousness and was deemed fit to go home, but was under doctor's orders to get plenty of rest since she had suffered a good deal of stress. She went back to her room at the Inn, despite her father's insistence that she go home with him. Tsuroko and Motoko both managed to convince him that his daughter was in good hands. With much reluctance he gave in, knowing they were right and thanking them for their heroic efforts. He gave Yumi one last hug and kiss before leaving.

Everyone at the Inn had been relieved to know that Yumi was doing okay, but also knew that she was going to need time to fully recover from her ordeal. They all decided to let her just rest awhile and would check on her later. In the meantime they went about their daily lives.

Tsuroko had taken the opportunity to talk to Yumi in private about everything. She apologized and begged Yumi's forgiveness. Yumi accepted the apology and offered her own for blaming her mother's death on Tsuroko entirely. Having put the past behind them Tsuroko wished her well and set off.

Shinobu was horribly upset when she heard what had happened and immensely relieved when she heard that Yumi was going to be alright. She planned on making an extra special dinner to celebrate Yumi being on the path to recovery. But first there was something else she had to, no _needed_ to do.

The young girl went off looking for Motoko. She found her up on the roof, doing her usual training exercises. She saw Shinobu approaching and stopped what she was doing.

"Motoko, may I speak with you for a minute?"

"Of course, is something bothering you?"

Shinobu nodded, "It…it's just that…I feel like I owe you an apology."

Motoko raised an eyebrow in curiosity, "Apology? What for?"

"I treated you badly because I was afraid you were trying to come between Yumi and me. But when Yumi was in trouble, you saved her life." Her eyes began to tear up, "If you hadn't gone looking for her, she would have been killed."

Shinobu fought back a sob. Motoko, seeing Shinobu was becoming upset, gave the younger girl a hug to comfort her. Shinobu let herself sink into Motoko's embrace and took the next few seconds to calm down. Once she had, she returned the hug.

"Thank you Motoko and I'm sorry for the way I behaved before."

"That's alright Shinobu, I forgive you. and as for saving Yumi-chan I don't deserve all the credit. If you hadn't told my sister and I that you thought she was in trouble we wouldn't have gone to find her." She broke off the hug and looked Shinobu in the eyes, "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to save her at all."

"I guess that's true, and Su helped a lot too."

Motoko nodded in agreement, "Yes, she did. She did us a big favor making that tracking device, which reminds me I promised her I'd treat her to a day at the amusement park as a thank you. I should probably see when she wants to go. But first I want to check on Yumi-chan."

"I'll come too I hope she's feeling better."

The two girls went back inside and to Yumi's room. Motoko knocked and received no answer. She tired again after waiting a moment.

"Yumi-chan? Are you there?"

There was still no answer. Motoko slid the door open a tiny bit and peeked inside. The room was dark, but Motoko could see Yumi lying in her bed. She opened the door quietly and went in, Shinobu following. They found that Yumi was asleep and opted to just let her rest. They left, being careful not to disturb their sleeping friend.

Once they had shut the door behind them, Yumi sat up. She hadn't been sleeping at all. She just didn't feel like talking to anyone. Her encounter with Mizore had left her in a bad state of mind. What if she had been right? What if the love that Motoko and Shinobu showed her was just a machination of her powers? She didn't want to face them about it just yet. So when she heard someone knocking on the door, she had crawled in bed and pretended to be asleep.

Yumi waited a minute before she was sure that Motoko and Shinobu had gone. She got out of bed and left her room. She heard voices coming from Shinobu's room and figured they went in there. The door was open and she could hear them clearly from her spot near her door, so she stayed there, lest they should find her eavesdropping.

Inside the room the two girls continued their conversation.

"I was thinking of making Yumi's favorite for dinner."

"That's a good idea. I'm sure that it will help her feel better."

Out in the hall, Yumi allowed herself a small smile. Maybe she was wrong to jump to the conclusion that Mizore was right. She should have known better than to let that get to her. She felt a little better.

Unfortunately what Yumi heard next shattered that feeling.

"Will you and Su be back for dinner or are you going to eat while you're out?"

What? Motoko and Su were going out? Yumi felt her heart sink a little. She thought that Motoko liked her. Maybe Mizore had been right after all.

Yumi shook her head, clearing it of her thoughts. She was just jumping to conclusions. Just because Motoko was going out with Su for a while didn't mean that they were dating. Right?

"Well I'm not sure how long the date is supposed to last but I'm sure we'll be back before dinner. I just feel bad about Yumi-chan."

"Me too, that's why I want to cook her favorite for dinner. I need to go shopping to get everything I'll need though."

"If you like I can run out and get whatever you need for you before I go out with Su."

"No that's okay. I need to go out anyway. I got a letter from a secret admirer at school on Friday and it says that he wants to meet with me today. So I'm going to do that first."

Yumi's heart felt like it had been torn out. Motoko _was_ dating Su and Shinobu was going to meet with a boy. It looked like that witch Mizore had been right after all. They didn't love her the way she thought she did. Not wanting to hear anymore, Yumi went back into her room. She threw herself on her bed and wept silently, her heart broken.

Back with in Shinobu's room, Motoko inquired about Shinobu's secret admirer.

"You're meeting with him? Does this mean you don't want to be with Yumi-chan anymore?"

"What? No! I want to tell him that I love someone else."

Motoko felt a little disappointed. She was hoping that she'd have a chance to take Yumi for herself.

"Oh, I see. Well I need to go and get ready."

Shinobu nodded, "I need to get going too. Have fun on your date with Su."

Motoko blushed, "It's not a _date_. It's just an afternoon at the amusement park."

Shinobu smiled at Motoko's reaction, "I'm going to start cooking dinner around seven. Try to be back from your _date_ by then."

"It's not a _date_!"

Shinobu giggled and went off to run her errands. Motoko shook her head and went to find Su so they could get ready. Unknown to both of them, Yumi was curled up in her bed, having cried herself to sleep.

The afternoon came and went. Shinobu had gotten back and spent a little time studying with Naru and Keitaro. After that she went to the kitchen and did a little cleaning before she got ready to prepare dinner. A little after seven, Motoko and Su returned from their day at the amusement park. Su was ecstatic from all the fun she had and Motoko was exhausted from trying to keep up with the girl through the course of their trip.

Shinobu poked her head out to greet them and let them know that dinner was almost ready. Motoko settled down on the couch and relaxed while Su went into the kitchen trying to sneak a taste of dinner. Shinobu smacked her hands away and told Su to wait. Su pouted and opted to stuff her face with a banana until it was time to eat.

Dinner was finally ready and Shinobu called everyone down. Soon they were all seated at the table, with the exception of Yumi. A few minutes passed and she still hadn't come down. Shinobu started to worry.

"Where's Yumi-chan?"

Motoko looked up from her meal, "You don't suppose she's still lying in bed do you?"

Shinobu got up, "I'm going to go check on her."

Motoko also stood, "I'll go with you."

Leaving the others to enjoy their meal they went back up to Yumi's room. Like earlier they found her lying in her bed, only this time she wasn't asleep. Or rather pretending to sleep. Instead they found her just lying there, hugging her pillow. She looked like she had been crying; her eyes were puffy and red. She took notice of the two girls and immediately looked away from them.

"Go away, leave me alone."

Shinobu knelt down next to Yumi's bed, "Yumi-chan, what's wrong? Are you feeling sick?"

Shinobu reached out to check if Yumi had a fever, but the halfbreed smacked her hand away.

"Don't touch me! Just go away!"

Shinobu pulled back her hand and looked down at the older girl with concern.

"Yumi-chan, please tell us what's wrong. We want to help."

Motoko stepped forward and knelt next to Shinobu, "We're your friends Yumi-chan; we care about you."

Yumi sat up and turned to face them. "No you don't! You never did! The only reason that either of you like me is because I'm half succubus! You've been under the influence of my seductive powers since we've met!"

Yumi was crying now, tears flowing freely down her face. Shinobu was shocked and a little hurt by what Yumi had just said. She almost started to cry herself, partially because of what Yumi said, but mostly because she couldn't stand seeing Yumi being so upset and not being able to do anything about it. Motoko, while she felt shocked and hurt by what Yumi said as well, did know what to do. She slapped Yumi across the face with such force that it knocked the crying girl flat on her back.

The room fell silent. Yumi had stopped crying; the sudden slap from Motoko catching her completely off guard. Shinobu stared at Motoko, dumbfounded. Her initial confusion at the swordswoman's actions was quickly replaced by anger.

"Motoko! How could you?!"

"Just a minute Shinobu," Motoko turned her attention to Yumi; casting the girl a glare, "Would you listen to yourself!? Where did you get such a ridiculous idea?!"

"I…it's just that when Mizore kidnapped me…"

"WHAT!? Yumi you can't be serious! She's the one who's responsible for your mother's death! How could you believe anything she tells you?!"

"But…but she was right! I heard the two of you talking in Shinobu's room earlier. I know that you were dating Su and that Shinobu has a boyfriend now."

It was at this point that Shinobu couldn't help but interrupt. "What? Yumi-chan I don't think you heard the whole conversation. I went to tell him that I already had someone I like, and that's you."

Yumi felt a mix of relief and confusion. "So I misunderstood what the two of you were talking about before?"

Shinobu nodded and Yumi felt better. But there was still Motoko and Su.

"So Motoko's date with Su…"

Motoko decided to answer this one, "It _wasn't _a _date_! I only took her to the amusement park as a way of thanking her for her help. If it hadn't been for her my sister and I wouldn't have gotten there in time."

"That's all?" Yumi felt bed for the way she had acted towards them earlier. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions like that, forgive me?"

Shinobu smiled and hugged her, "Of course we do, after all it isn't your fault."

Motoko also hugged Yumi, "She's right Yumi-chan. You've been through a lot recently and it's obviously caused you a good deal of stress."

Yumi smiled, "Thanks for knocking some sense into me. I feel much better now."

The three broke off the embrace. They all got up and Shinobu headed for the door.

"Come on we should go eat before our dinner gets cold."

Motoko followed her with Yumi right behind, "Or worse yet, before Su decides to help herself to our plates."

They went down and ate their meal. Fortunately the others had been nice enough to keep Su away from their food. Soon dinner was over and the girls all went about their own activities, leaving Keitaro to wash the dishes. Shinobu, thinking that some fresh air would do Yumi a world of good, went up on the roof with her. Motoko was thinking of joining them but Naru came to her telling her that Tsuroko was on the phone and wanted to speak with her.

Motoko quickly went to the phone and picked up the receiver.

"Hello? Nee-san?"

Hearing her sister's voice on the phone, Tsuroko responded in an urgent tone.

"Motoko?"

"Yes, it's me."

"Good. Listen, there's something you need to know. Mizore isn't dead."

That instantly got Motoko's attention, "What?! How do you know? Have you seen her?"

"No, but I've been looking all day. I overheard someone talking about seeing a 'woman with black wings and a tail' while I was searching the area where we last saw her. I asked the man about it and from the description it's definitely her. I'm going to keep searching. But be on your guard Motoko."

"Don't worry I will."

"Good, now I need to go back to my search. Mizore could be anywhere."

"Good luck Nee-san."

"Thank you, I'll call you back in a short while."

Tsuroko hung up. Motoko was about to go tell Yumi as well as the others what she had just been told when she heard a scream. Recognizing it as Shinobu's Motoko rushed to the roof where Yumi and Shinobu went.

Moments later she arrived and found Mizore on the roof with Yumi in her grasp. Shinobu was off to the side, too scared to move.

Mizore looked to be in bad shape. She was covered in cuts and bruises, one of her wings was clearly broken and hanging lifelessly from her back, and on of her ankles was twisted slightly, making her use her good wing to stand upright.

She saw Motoko and cast a hateful glare at the swordswoman.

"You!! You filthy little Aoyoma bitch! You're the first one to die!"

Motoko paid no mind to Mizore's threat. She drew her sword and met Mizore's glare.

"I don't think you're in any condition to be doing any such thing."

Mizore smiled her twisted smile "Oh really? In case you haven't noticed I have the little halfbreed as my hostage. So unless you want to see her suffer you'll take that blade of yours and cut your stomach open!"

To emphasize that she wasn't bluffing, Mizore dragged her long claw-like nails across Yumi's cheek, drawing blood and leaving jagged scratch marks. Yumi whimpered as she felt Mizore's claws scratch down her cheek and stop just short of her neck.

Motoko felt enraged at the sight of Mizore harming Yumi. If it weren't for the fact that Yumi was Mizore's hostage she would have charged and sliced the succubus in half. She calmed her rage so she could think clearly and weighed her options. She couldn't do as Mizore said; if she did Mizore would only kill Yumi anyway. But if she tried to attack her, she'd be risking Yumi's life, something she didn't like in the least so that option was out too. There had to another way.

Motoko's eyes lit up as she got an idea. There _was_ something she could do, but she needed to get closer to Mizore and Yumi first.

Mizore was growing impatient, "Well? Did you not hear me correctly, or is it you'd rather watch her die?"

Motoko took a step forward, "No! I'll do what you say. But would it be alright if I said good bye to her first?"

Mizore rolled her eyes, "You humans and your damn sentiment. Fine, but make it quick!"

Motoko slowly advanced toward them. However she didn't make it too far before Mizore stopped her.

"What do you take me for, a fool? I'm not letting you just walk over here while you're caring that sword of yours! You can say your goodbyes from right where you're standing!"

Motoko stepped back a bit, "If I set my sword aside, may I approach her?"

Mizore hesitated, "Fine, but no tricks!"

Motoko sheathed her sword and gave it to Shinobu. She then gave the girl a hug and whispered to her. Shinobu mumbled a 'goodbye' and watched as Motoko went back to Yumi.

Motoko was only a meter or two away when Mizore stopped her again.

"That's close enough! Don't think I'm going to trust you just because you're unarmed! Now get this over with!"

Motoko gave a quick glare to Mizore and then turned her gaze to Yumi. Yumi was crying, not wanting to believe what was happening.

"Motoko, please you don't have to do this."

"I have no choice Yumi-chan. There's no other way."

Yumi began to cry harder, "No! Please don't Motoko! You don't have to!"

"It's alright Yumi-chan. I'd do anything for you. I love you."

Mizore was getting sick of waiting, "The two of you have said more than enough! Now either you go and kill yourself or I'll end this brat's life here and now!"

Motoko smiled, "I don't think so. Shinobu, NOW!"

Shinobu threw Motoko's sword to her. With catlike reflexes, Motoko caught the sword by the handle and gave it a short swing with the flick of her wrist. The sheath flew off the blade and nailed Mizore between the eyes, stunning her long enough for Motoko to move into her attack.

She gave Mizore one last glare, "The only one dying here is you demon! Boulder Cutting Blade: Second Form!"

With a swing of her sword, Motoko sent a powerful wave of chi that passed through Yumi and struck Mizore full force. The succubus was obliterated entirely with no trace left behind to shoe she had even been there at all. Unfortunately Motoko's attack had shredded Yumi's clothes, leaving her in her birthday suit.

Both Shinobu and Motoko blushed at the sight before them. Shinobu covered her eyes with her hands, but still peeked through her fingers. Motoko on the other hand suddenly found herself seeing things from Keitaro's point of view. She had a small trickle of blood coming out of one nostril as she looked on. The sight was forever etched into her memory as her eyes took in every detail of the other girl's body.

"Y-Yumi-chan. I never would have guessed you had a birthmark _there_."

Yumi, after processing everything that had just happened, quickly covered herself as best she could with her hands; her entire face was red with a giant blush. More embarrassed than she had ever been in her life, she couldn't help but cry out.

"Motoko! You…you…_you PERVERT!_"

TBC.

Yeah, I know I told you that this is the last chapter. And it is. But I also wrote an epilogue for the story. Hope you like.


	11. Epilogue

_Epilogue_

A few days had passed since Motoko had saved Yumi and life had returned to normal. Motoko had informed her sister of what had happened and then took the opportunity to ask her about something that had been bothering her.

Yumi had taken a couple days off from school, needing to rest after all that had happened in the previous few days. She insisted she was fine, but Shinobu and Motoko convinced her to stay home and take it easy. Motoko took the liberty of getting Yumi's assignments from her teachers and bringing them to her and even helping her with them.

The next day Yumi returned to school. Classes went by one by one and soon the school day was over. She and Yumi began to walk back home, stopping by Shinobu's school to meet up with her. Together the three walked back, enjoying the day. They spent the time talking about classes.

Soon they reached the staircase leading up to the Inn and Motoko changed the topic.

"Yumi-chan, I'm going out to the mountains to train this weekend and I was wondering if you'd care to join me. You don't have to train with me; I'd just appreciate having some company."

Yumi blushed at the idea of being alone with Motoko for the whole weekend. She gave it a moment's thought and couldn't think of any reason why she couldn't go.

"Sure I'd love to!"

Shinobu however did have a problem with Motoko and Yumi's plans.

"But Yumi-chan, you promised you'd help me study for my test next week!"

"Oh crap! I almost forgot! I'm sorry Shinobu. Maybe I can help you study when I come back."

"But the test is on Monday!"

Yumi thought for a second, "Well if Motoko doesn't mind, maybe you can come with us. Then I could still help you study and I can still go with Motoko."

Shinobu turned to the swordswoman, "May I Motoko? Please?"

"I don't know. Won't you just end up being bored for most of the trip?"

Shinobu pouted, "Oh and you think that Yumi wouldn't?"

"I happen to think that Yumi-chan would prefer my company."

Now Shinobu was getting irritated, "Yumi-chan likes spending time with me a lot more than you! Right, Yumi-chan?"

Yumi had an odd feeling that this would escalate unless she chose her words carefully. However, before she could answer, Motoko spoke up.

"I think that she'd prefer being with someone closer to her own age than with a child."

It's quite obvious that Motoko didn't choose her words carefully, and as Yumi was hoping to avoid, the argument escalated.

"I'm _not _a child!"

"You could have fooled me. Especially considering that you act like one."

"At least I can act like a girl!"

Not wanting to let this go on, Yumi intervened, hoping to get the other two girls to stop.

"Both of you stop! Arguing won't settle anything!"

Motoko and Shinobu did stop, but unfortunately for Yumi, it wasn't as easy as that. Motoko gave Yumi a quick glance and then turned her attention back to Shinobu.

"Yumi's right, this won't get us anywhere. Let's just ask her who she likes better."

"Fine!" The youngest girl turned towards Yumi, "Yumi-chan you like me best right?"

Motoko scoffed, "Don't get your hopes up Shinobu; Yumi-chan would rather spend time with me!" She once more turned her gaze at Yumi, "Right?"

Yumi now found herself caught in the middle of the fight she was trying to stop. She stood with both of the other girls waiting her to answer, and not knowing what to say. Shinobu and Motoko waited for a minute to get a response, but soon lost their patience. The two of them glared at her and spoke in unison.

"Well?"

Yumi swallowed the lump in her throat, "I…I, um."

The other two girls leaned forward slightly; their eyes locked on Yumi.

"I…like you both the same."

Both Shinobu and Motoko weren't satisfied with Yumi's answer. Motoko stood straight and crossed her arms.

"Come one Yumi, you have to like one of us better than the other."

"I…I just don't know! I can't just choose one of you over the other!"

Seeing that Yumi was becoming upset, Shinobu's gaze softened. Motoko's however did not; still not satisfied with Yumi's answer she turned in a huff and went inside.

"Fine! Be that way! When you're ready to finally to give us a real answer you can find me in my room!"

She slammed the door behind her. Shinobu placed a hand on Yumi's shoulder, reassuring the now depressed looking girl.

"I'll go talk to her. Don't worry about it Yumi-chan."

Yumi only gave a small nod in response. The two went inside; Shinobu went to find Motoko and Yumi went to her room. Shinobu found Motoko changing from her school uniform. She let herself in and set straight to the matter at hand.

"Motoko, we need to talk."

Motoko gave her a passing glance, still irritated with her. "About what?"

"About Yumi-chan. I think we went a little too far when we tried to make her choose between us. She looked upset."

Realizing that Shinobu was right, Motoko set aside her pride and forgot that she was irritated with the younger girl.

She turned to face Shinobu, "Go on, I'm listening."

Meanwhile, Yumi was currently lying in her bed, trying to decide between Motoko and Shinobu. As she laid there, she compared them in her mind.

'_Shinobu is incredibly cute, extremely sweet and her cooking could put a gourmet restaurant to shame. But Motoko is more mature, both in age and physical appearance, and is graceful and strong, not to mention drop dead gorgeous. I already rejected Motoko once and I felt horrible about it. But I don't want to reject Shinobu either.'_

Yumi groaned in frustration, "Why can't I choose!?"

She spent a good deal of time along that train of thought, but still came to no decision. Soon dinner came and she went down to eat. She ate in silence, not looking at Shinobu and Motoko. Finishing her meal quickly she went back to her room, hoping to think more clearly now that she had a full stomach.

It got late and she had to go to bed. But she had finally decided what she was going to tell Motoko and Shinobu. But it would have to wait until tomorrow.

Morning came and Yumi got up early to get ready for school. She waited until everyone had finished eating breakfast to talk to the girls. She approached them and asked to meet them in private.

The three of them went to the kitchen. Once there, Yumi turned to face the other two girls, who were waiting for her to speak.

Mentally steeling her nerves, Yumi began.

"I've made my choice. But I want you to understand that I don't want to hurt either of you."

Motoko nodded, "We promise we'll respect your decision Yumi-chan."

Shinobu also nodded, signifying she agreed. She and Motoko quietly awaited for Yumi to continue.

Yumi took a deep breathe, "Alright I…I…I'm sorry I just can't decide between you two. I don't want to hurt either of your feelings!"

Yumi wasn't sure how they would respond. But what Motoko said next was definitely unexpected.

"So why not choose us both?"

If Yumi's jaw wasn't attached to the rest of her head, it would have hit the floor. She gawked at the swordswoman for half a minute, wondering if she heard her correctly. Seeing Yumi's reaction, Shinobu decided to clarify.

"Let us explain. Yesterday when I went to talk with Motoko we made a promise to each other that we would accept your choice no matter what."

Motoko took over, "Then I remembered something I discussed with my sister the other day. I had asked her for love advice and when I told her that you were the object of my affections she told me that Succubi have an instant attraction to their 'mate of fate.' In other words a succubus can practically sense who their mate is destined to be upon meeting them."

Yumi's eyes lit up, "Like when my mother met my father?"

Motoko nodded, "Exactly, so I called her back last night and asked if it was possible for a Succubus to have more than one 'mate of fate.' She told me that while she didn't know of any that is was still possible."

"Wait, so what you're saying is that you and Shinobu are going to share me?"

Shinobu nodded, "Pretty much. It's going to take some getting used to but we'll work things out."

Yumi took a minute to absorb all of this. She felt completely dumbstruck.

"This is a little much. I don't know what to think of it."

Motoko smiled, "Then don't."

She leaned forward and gave Yumi a kiss on the cheek, Shinobu doing the same to her other one. Yumi blushed furiously and the other two giggled at her reaction. Motoko then headed for the door.

"Come on, we're going to be late if we stand around any longer."

The three left and went to their respective schools. Yumi still found it all hard to believe, but didn't care. She now had two people who she cared for and who returned her feelings. They did not know what tomorrow would bring. They didn't care. They had each other and to them that is all that will ever matter.

End.

Well, it's over. I got the whole 'mate of fate' thing from Rosario Vampire and I just made up the whole thing about it being possible to have more than one. I never was good at endings so I want you to be honest about whether it sucks as much as I think it does. But, I hope you all liked it and feel free to look at my other stories if you haven't already. Until next time, thanx for reading!


End file.
